Acceptance
by DracoFreakingMalfoy
Summary: Harry finds an abandoned little Draco at King's Cross. What will he do with him?
1. Chapter 1: Platform Peril

Acceptance  
>Chapter 1<br>Platform Peril

The sky was aghast with fat grey clouds, raindrops threatening to fall upon the grounds of the muggle world. I sprinted towards the infamous Platform nine and three quarters with my best friend, Ron Weasley, not too far behind.

"Get a move on, will you?"

"I'm trying! You push my trolley then, you whiny git!"

Just then, a faint sound made its way into my eardrums. A whimper, was it? A cry? It sounded like a child, not too far away. "Ron!" I called out. He finally caught up to me and shot me an exhausted glare, "what?" I motioned him to listen…

"Do you hear something? Perhaps a child's cry?"

"Sorry, mate. All I hear is the train moving off if we don't hurry up and get to the platform NOW. Come on, let's go."

And he pushed his way past me and charged through the wall between platforms nine and ten. I proceeded to go after him, but something deep inside me told me to check out the source of the soft cries I heard- there it is again! I rammed my way through the crowd, knocking several muggles out of the way, -by accident of course- and headed towards the sound. Soon, I found myself standing face to face with a little boy with blond hair, hiding in the corner of a wall. He had his head buried in his little knees and refused to look up, endlessly whimpering.

"Hey, little guy. You alright?"

The blonde's head inched its way up above his knees and looked at me, trembling in fear. His misty grey eyes resembled that of my rival at Hogwarts; Malfoy. But no, it couldn't be…Could it? I turned to leave, lest I be late. God knows what I'll do if I miss the train…AGAIN… But as I turned to leave, I heard a small voice.

"Dun weave Dwayco…Pweez…?"

I spun around instantaneously to see the blonde standing up and holding his arms out towards me, tears welling up in the grey eyes I knew so well. So it really was him…but how? How did he end up in the muggle world and why was he...small…? I simply stood there spaced out for a few seconds until Malfoy's voice chimed in again,

"Dun go…"

That was when my conscience kicked in. I was left alone as a child myself, to be cared for by what seemed to be the worst muggles in the world, and I had been treated like shit all my life until I got accepted into Hogwarts. No way did I deserve that, and no way would Malfoy, as cocky as I knew him to be, deserve to be abandoned in a place like this. I stole a glance at the clock, then back at a sad little Malfoy, and immediately scooped him up into my trolley and dashed to the platform. Thankfully, the train was still there, and before I knew it, I found my way to the same cabin as Ron and Hermione, hiding the little Malfoy under my cloak.

"Blimey, took you long enough. I was telling Hermione how someone was telling me to get a move on while he himself took five bloody minutes to get aboard."

"Sorry Ron. I got caught up with something at the last minute."

Hermione didn't say anything, but continuously stared at a bump in my cloak, which I tried desperately to hide. I failed, however, when Hermione asked what it was.

"Um, well…that's the thing I was caught up with at King's Cross…"

Hermione bent over and began prodding at the suspicious bump until Malfoy yelped out in pain. I decided that I had to tell them sooner or later anyway, so I lifted him out from under my cloak, earning a shrilly scream from Ron. Then I began to tell them about how I found him curled up in a corner by himself and how I simply had to smuggle him along.

"So, what you're saying is…this is Malfoy?" Hermione questioned.  
>"Well yeah, he did call himself Draco…" I replied.<br>"Bloody hell, Harry. You should have just left him there, he deserves it after all those years of being such a dick to us." Ron retorted.

I clenched my fist. How could Ron be so heartless? I answered back, "sure, Malfoy was a dick but he's obviously been through a lot and somehow got himself in this sorry state. You can't expect me to just ignore the cries of a little kid, Ron. You have no idea what it's like to be abandoned like that…alone…with no one to love and are for you…"

My voice faltered as it trailed off, and Ron apologized soon after. Little Draco sat at the corner, looking at the three of us, still trembling in fear.

"Well, if he's scared of us, why would he want to follow you?" Ron rolled his eyes.  
>"Uh, I dunno. Maybe it's because you just insulted him?"<p>

I sighed and turned to look at Draco; he looked nothing like the Malfoy we knew. There was no more dominance, hatred or evilness in his eyes, all that remained was pure innocence and fear; fear of being abandoned. I understood that so well, and I would rather Malfoy not grow up in such an environment. Perhaps if he came to live with Ron, Hermione and I, as well as the other Gryffindors at Hogwarts, he might become a changed person, maybe he wouldn't become the despised bully that he was.

"Harry, you're not thinking of letting him live in the Gryffindor common room are you?" Hermione shot me a look of disapproval. How the hell did she read my mind? "Well, Hermione, what do you suggest we do with him then?"

"Simple. We're going to turn him in to Professor Dumbledore and let him handle the rest."  
>"Hermione's right, mate. We don't need an extra weight on our shoulders," Ron pointed out as Draco began climbing up onto my shoulder. "No pun intended," he coughed.<p>

"Maybe you're right, but for tonight, just let him live with us okay? He needs some time to adjust to his surroundings before we dump him into someone else's hands," I negotiated. The two gave it some thought and eventually gave in.

Draco, as if understanding the situation, forced a smile in my direction and fell asleep in my arms. I brought the little boy closer, wrapped my cloak around him and blushed; he was adorable. My fingers skidded down the side of his bangs and stroked his cheek gently. Hermione couldn't help but giggle at the sight of me embracing the enemy, which caused a look of disgust from Ron.

"I know, I know, guys. This is weird but…I guess he's one of us for now."

I turned my attention to the blonde in my arms once more. If only he'd stay like this, I definitely prefer him the way he is now, compared with his former bully self. Whatever happens when we get to Hogwarts, we'll worry about later. But now, time seemed to stop while I secretly enjoyed this moment with the young Slytherin. Hopefully he'll grow to feel more accepted when he's with us, or better yet, with me.


	2. Chapter 2: Smuggling Draco

Acceptance  
>Chapter 2<br>Smuggling Draco

"We've reached," my best friend shook me awake.

"Thanks, Ron," I muttered. Hmm, looks like we're going to be home soon. Personally, I treated Hogwarts like my home, Privet Drive was just some place for me to stay cooped up in over the summer. It was a place where I'd get abused by the Dursleys every day, unlike Hogwarts, where almost everyone accepts me for the freak I am. To most of them, I'm 'the boy who lived', to others, like Malfoy, I was 'the arrogant Gryyfindor man-bitch'. Speaking of Malfoy…

Little Draco woke up and peeked out from under my cloak. "No no, stay in there Malfoy, and be quiet okay? If anyone hears you, I really wouldn't know how to handle the situation." Draco blinked his wide grey eyes innocently and placed a finger over his lips in agreement, nodding at the same time. With that, he settled within my cloak, somehow managing to keep his balance, while I strode out with Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, Harry! How was summer?"

I turned to face Seamus and Dean who were waving with remarkable enthusiasm. I felt Draco pulling at my shirt in panic. "Stop, stop…" I whispered. Fortunately, I simply answered them with one word, 'great', and the two left me alone to go bother someone else. Ron and Hermione stationed themselves at my side and kept whispering to me that maybe it would be better if I just hand Draco over to a professor when one appeared. I refused.

"What up, Harry?"  
>"It's been awhile-"<br>"-Since we-"  
>"-Last seen you."<p>

Damn, it's the twins. Would they find anything suspicious? Maybe if I walk sideways, they wouldn't be able to see…

"What's that, Harry?"

Shit.

"Uh," I mumble. "What's what?" I turned to face my back at them.

"Come on, Harry, we don't wanna see your ass now do we, George?"  
>"Most certainly not, Fred."<br>"Exactly, we much rather see what you're smuggling under that coat of yours."  
>"See, we're smuggling stuff too and we just wanna make sure you're not smuggling the same thing 'cos that would be lame."<br>"Too lame, mate."

"You guys, stop bothering Harry, he hasn't smuggled anything," Ron rushed in to my defence. I on the other hand was still facing the opposite direction from everyone else, while Hermione was standing abnormally close to me.

Without warning, Fred and George rushed over to me and threw my cloak off me. I was still standing there in shock, resigned to my fate as I stood in the same spot, ass still facing their direction. With my cloak off, it revealed…

"Wow, you smuggled baby booties here, Harry? Seriously?"

I opened my eyes, which I had unconsciously squeezed shut during the dilemma. I looked down and saw two green little shoes squeezed between my belt and my pants. Where the hell…?

"See? I doubt what I'm smuggling is the same as yours, so err…can I have my cloak back?" I said coolly. The twins shrugged and handed it back, walking off into the distance, laughing about something to do with little baby shoes. Immediately, my cool facial expression changed into panic as I frantically spun around aimlessly. "Guys! Where's Malfoy?"

"Don't worry," Hermione winked at me, motioning towards a lump under HER coat. "He's perfectly safe."

I heaved a sigh of relief as Hermione slipped Draco back under my coat. That was a close one… Hopefully the professors and other students won't give me anymore trouble.

Soon, we entered the gates of Hogwarts, with Draco peeking every now and then to take in the magical sight. I begin wondering if Draco's memories were erased; why else would he be so fascinated with something he's seen for four years?

As we stepped into the Great Hall, a huge feast was already spread across every table and I got ready to let my taste buds flow~ I sat between Ron and Hermione as we chat with our fellow Gryffindors about our summer vacation and enjoyed the scrumptious food before us.

"And then Mom told me that if I EVER laid a finger on her panties again, she would never let me see the light of day."

"Sounds like you had a very twisted, amazing summer, Ron," Neville remarked.

We laughed as Neville ducked from the flying pieces of chicken thrown by Ron and carried on with our catch-up time. It felt awesome to be back where I belonged, although I didn't have anything interesting to share about my summer. Half the time I was stuck in my room doing nothing.

Then I felt a small vibration from under my coat. When I ignored it, the vibration got worse and I could hear rumbling sounds, even Hermione heard it and nudged me. Thankfully no one else noticed. Oh yeah! Malfoy must be hungry too. But I couldn't been seen shoving bits and pieces of food under my cloak, that would be freaking retarded. Little Draco pushed open a bit of my cloak and looked up at me, his little eyes were longing, longing for food probably. "I'm sorry, little guy, I promise I'll get you some food later okay?" I whispered. Draco's face fell and he went back into hiding.

Ron, Hermione and I waited until everyone at the Gryffindor table left before we got ready to take some of the remaining food and leave. We each grabbed a few cupcakes and sandwiches and headed towards the exit. Meanwhile, I noticed Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy walking along the corridors stating all sorts of lame possibilities as to why their ringleader was missing in action. One being that he had gone to some place called Pigfarts. Weird… I believe I watched some Youtube video over the summer where Malfoy kept talking about said place. Well, none of their guesses were right though. I would love to imagine the looks on their faces if they knew I was smuggling him right under my coat this very instance.

Soon, Ron and I bid Hermione goodnight as we headed to the Gryffindor boys' common room. Thankfully, Dumbledore decided to refurbish our common rooms last year such that two students shared one decent sized room each. I lazily threw my cloak off as Draco flopped himself onto my bed.

"Whoa, don't forget to close the door! If anyone saw Malfoy here, we'd be in deep shit," Ron ran to shut the door.

"My bad," I chuckled. Then I heard a familiar noise. Draco's tummy was rumbling again. Right, the food… Damn, Hermione forgot to give us her cupcakes. Oh well, I guess these would be enough. Besides, how much could the little guy eat?

Ron and I lay our cupcakes on my bed as Draco crawled towards them. He looked confused for a second, and so did we. His facial expression turned into the familiar pout that Malfoy used to give so often, and he pointed at us, then to the cupcakes.

"He's not serious, is he? I'm not gonna feed the little devil, no way," Ron folded his arms.  
>"I don't know how to feed a kid, Ron, I'm a freaking only child! Unlike someone who has a hell load of siblings."<br>"Sorry, man, you're on your own."

Ron threw his hands up in defeat and retreated back to his bed, landing head first into the comfort of his pillow. I sigh and scoop the little Malfoy up in my right arm, while my free hand picked up a small piece of cupcake. I held it to his mouth. Draco immediately lunged forward and chewed onto the tiny delicacy, failing to avoid chewing my fingers. I only have one comment; ouch.

Draco clapped his hands with glee and demanded for more. The next couple of minutes were spent with me feeding him as his cheerful laughter echoed around the room. Malfoy was happy. He was ACTUALLY happy. I don't recall seeing that happening at all throughout those four years at Hogwarts with him. I smirk and pinch his chubby little cheek. "You're at my mercy now, little guy. You better thank your lucky stars that you're not the retarded bullying dumbass that you were before, because if you were, you'd be thrown out of here by now."

Draco merely flashed a broad smile and wrapped his arms around me. I was stunned for a moment. Damn, the older Draco would never do that. Whatever… Besides, tomorrow morning, he'll be in the hands of Professor Dumbledore and I wouldn't have to worry about him or have anything to do with him ever again.


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Wanna Let Go

Acceptance  
>Chapter 3<br>Don't Wanna Let Go

Streaks of sunlight edged their way through the red curtains, signalling the start of a new day. I yawned and stretched. Gah, I feel all stiff today and- hmm? I feel some sort of pressure on my side and slowly lift the bed covers up. There, sleeping against me, was the little Malfoy. How could I have forgotten about him? I get out of bed to wake Ron for potions class, Malfoy would just have to wait here for a minute. Then again, he looks sort of uncomfortable lying under the covers like that. I gently shove him up a bit for some fresh air.

"Nnnn…" a small voice escaped from Draco.

I stared long and hard at him. He really looked uncomfortable somehow, like he was in pain. "Malfoy," I poke him. "Are you okay?" Draco curled into a ball and clutched his tummy, groaning. I guess I'd take that as a no. But what could I do? I have no experience whatsoever with little kids, let alone SICK little kids. There's only one reasonable thing to do…

"Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron-"  
>"WHAT?"<p>

Well at least I didn't have to worry about waking him up now. "I think Malfoy's sick, just look at him." I told Ron, who merely shrugged and told me to just ignore it and give him to Dumbledore before potions class.

"I don't know, Ron. I think he's really in pain. Maybe we should bring him to the infirmary or something, get him a check-up, or some painkillers, anything."

"Why do you care so much, Harry?"

That's when it hit me. Good question; why did I care so much? Honestly, I don't know. Somehow, seeing the little guy in such agony made my heart wrench. I don't know what made me do it, but I suddenly ran back to my bed and picked Draco up and hugged him, rocking him in my arms. He buried his head in my pyjamas and began to sniff a little, mumbling something about pain. Ron was paralyzed at the sight, and finally forced some words out,

"Um, Harry…You do realize you're cuddling MALFOY, right?"  
>"Don't call him Malfoy. Call him Draco from now on. He's not the Malfoy we knew and hated, he's Draco, the innocent child that can't fend for himself unless he is shown love and care."<p>

Ron was even more stunned by my last statement, he headed towards the door, "I'll get Hermione to check him out."

"Thanks, Ron." I smiled, then looked down at Draco. But when my eyes took in the pitiful sight before me, I frowned once more. Stroking his hair, I ask him sweetly, "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Although it was quite obvious that it was his stomach that was hurting, I just wanted him to respond to me, and talk to me. He was still so shy around my friends and I. I just want to make him feel at home when he's with me, I want him to have lively conversations with me, I want him to be able to tell me anything.

"Harwy…?"  
>"Yes, Draco?"<br>"Dwayco tummy hurt…Really…Really…hurt…"

Tears started to fall from his beautiful grey eyes and trickled down his pale cheeks. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes too, but I wouldn't let them. The last thing Draco needed was another crybaby around to cry and make him feel worse. "You poor thing," I sighed, stroking his tummy. It seemed to have calmed him down a little. My fingers skidded across the pale skin slowly, I don't know if he liked the feeling, but I know I did.

Right on cue, Hermione and Ron entered the room. "So what happened to him, Harry?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Draco says his tummy hurts," I said, laying him back down on the bed. Hermione sat down beside me and began prodding at Draco's stomach. Almost immediately, Draco's eyes shot open and he rolled away from Hermione, bumping into me. "Draco…"

"Dwayco no like poke! Dwayco hurt!" he cried.

I look helplessly at the child who was desperately clinging on to me, then to Hermione. She gently lifted Draco into her lap despite his efforts to get away. He then folded his arms protectively around his tummy, shouting 'no poke!' Hermione patted Draco on the head and said with a warm smile, "Listen, little Malfoy-"  
>"Draco."<br>"-Draco…I'm Harry's friend. You trust Harry right?"

Draco nodded with a curious expression.

"Well, then you should trust me too. Honestly, I'm more skilled in the medicine area than Harry and Ron are, and I just need to check on your tummy for a bit, okay? I know it's going to hurt but please just bear with it."

Draco looked at me with pleading eyes, all I could say was, "it's gonna be okay."  
>I nodded at Hermione who proceeded with the check-up process. I could see Draco squirming as she began prodding around on his tummy, but he was forcing himself not to cry. I couldn't help but chuckle. Same old Malfoy, always keeping his feelings to himself, trying to be strong in front of others. But earlier today, he cried when I embraced him, that was very unlike Malfoy. Yes, despite his effort not to cry in front of others, when in the presence of few, he might just let himself go. And honestly, I'd like to see that more in him. It shows that he truly has feelings, that he's a human being too, that he deserves to be loved as well…<p>

"Okay, all done!" Hermione beamed as Draco sat himself on my lap immediately and grabbed my arms to cover his tummy in case there was a need to brace for another 'attack'.

"So is he gonna be okay?"  
>"He will be, after some rest. He simply ate too much, I'm guessing…thanks to the cupcakes. You guys probably overfed him. He's so tiny, Harry, you shouldn't have given him ALL the cupcakes and sandwiches you collected. His tummy can only contain SO much. Why do you think I took my share of cupcakes and sandwiches with me for temporary storage? Because I know that by right, Mal- I mean, Draco would take about a day to finish the entire helping. I was planning on giving my share to him for tonight's dinner, but I think he's sick of cupcakes and sandwiches now."<p>

Draco let out a whimper and I began rubbing circles on his tummy. Hermione took a deep breath and continued," you only gave him YOUR share of food,right?"

Ron and I exchanged quick, panicked glances. Hermione didn't need us to say anything before she whacked both of us on the head,

"You idiots! No wonder he's having such a bad stomachache. Um, I don't have any painkillers with me so Draco, you're gonna have to just sleep it off, okay?"

Draco nodded, eyes half closed, the pain was already starting to wear him out again. Hermione shot me a look, "are you sure you don't want to send him to the infirmary…?"

"NO!" I said almost too quickly.

"Remind me again, Harry, when do you intend to give him to Dumbledore? Malfoy's gotta return back to his normal bitchy self again you know. You can't just leave him in this state." Ron muttered with a look of disgust.

I lifted Draco such that his tummy was leaning on my chest while his head wasn't facing his two visitors. "Actually, guys…I've been thinking…"

"Harry, you can't be serious."

"Incidentally, I happen to be very much serious. I think…I want to keep him like this. I don't want to let him go. Tell me, would you prefer the pompous asshole we knew, or this little cutie here?"

The stunned pair found themselves speechless. Hell yeah, I knew they couldn't deny that they wouldn't want the old Malfoy back. I guess I'd take silence as consent~

Draco seemed to understand the decision that we made, or at least the part about us keeping him instead of giving him away, and hugged me as tightly as he could.

"That's right, little guy…I'm not going to leave you. Remember yesterday at King's Cross, you told me not to leave you? I assure you, it's a promise I won't break."


	4. Chapter 4: Because I Care

Author's note: THANK YOU, reviewers for your reviews haha~ To be honest, I'm not quite sure where this story is going, I just make things up as I go along :x Oh and I'd appreciate more reviews too! I reeeaaallllyyy wanna know how I'm progressing and whether I should continue the story, cuz my summer vacation's almost over and I'm going back to school on Thursday and I might be really busy so…two possibilities:  
>1) If I get reviews telling me to go on, I'll try to update as often as possible<br>2) If I get no reviews, I might abandon the story and focus more on school stuff (you guys shout, "NERD!")

The future of the story is in your hands! LOL anyway, I already did Chapter 4. Microsoft Word was giving me trouble last night so I redownloaded it today and TADA~ Here's chapter 4 of Acceptance, enjoy~

Acceptance  
>Chapter 4<br>Because I Care

"_That's right, little guy…I'm not going to leave you. Remember yesterday at King's Cross, you told me not to leave you? I assure you, it's a promise I won't break."_

So there I was, hugging my ex-nemesis, while my best friends looked on in amusement. All was silent until Ron jumped up exclaiming that we only had one minute left before potions class. That's when I made one of the quickest, most stupidest statements ever;

"You guys go ahead. I'm skipping potions."

"Wait, no, no, no. The Harry freaking Potter I know will NEVER risk letting Snape hate him even more by skipping his class. NEVER," Ron's mouth was gaping wide, and I could have sworn that Draco turned around and mumbled something in baby language which sounded like 'mouth drip drip' as he pointed an excited finger at Ron's mouth.

Hermione was contemplating whether she should make a beeline for potions class by herself or wait for Ron to stop spacing out. I decided to look at my watch and say, "hey, 30 seconds left, better hurry." Hermione grabbed Ron harshly by his collar and dragged him out, waving goodbye.

"What? Are we just gonna leave him there with-"  
>"SHUT UP Ron. Bye Harry! Bye Draco!"<p>

I smiled, knowing that Hermione would handle Ron's big complaining mouth. Now, time to take care of Draco. But I was stumped by my own thoughts; why would I risk my grade, or rather my LIFE, by skipping the worst class ever in order to spend time with this small fart here? Honestly, why do I even bother? He's just like any other kid... No, he's not like any other kid. He's Draco Malfoy. A guy who was once my enemy! The guy who tortured me every day, the guy with the worst attitude, the guy with those terrible eyes which glare into my soul and...into...my heart...the guy with the nice, soft, blond hair...whose voice charms my inner being...whom I have been subconsciously harbouring feelings for...whose sexy body I wanna...-Whoa whoa whoa what the hell?

I was so appalled at my own thoughts that I dropped Draco onto the bed. "Oh my god Dray, I'm so sorry!" Draco grinned and gave me a thumbs up sign showing he was okay. But when I moved forward to pick him up, he fell backwards and landed on the floor with a thud. I was expecting him to cry or something but when I picked him up, he was smiling away. Oh yeah, Malfoys don't cry. Or at least they try not to. Which reminds me…

"Draco, how did you end up alone at King's Cross?"

Draco's smile flipped upside down as he pouted, "Dwayco was bad boy…"

So someone punished him by leaving him de-aged and lost at a crowded area? Who would do such a thing? And what did he do to deserve it?

I laid Draco back onto the bed and covered him under the blanket. He was still frowning, and he didn't dare to look me in the eye anymore. "So…who did this to you?"

"Dwayco dunno…"  
>"Are you sure?"<br>"Dwayco dunno…"  
>"Why would they do this to you?"<br>"Dwayco dunno…!"  
>"But if you don't tell me, how do you expect me to help you?"<br>"Dwayco DUNNO!""

I backed away as the angsty little slytherin started hammering on the bed and throwing the sheets and pillows off. I wanted so badly to take him into my arms again and comfort him, but I figured the best thing to do now was to give him some peace. Maybe I should just go for potions class whether I'm tardy or not. Draco doesn't need me here… I collected my books and headed for the door when I heard the same sad voice, this time not so angry, calling out to me.

"Harry leave Dwayco…?"

I paused and pondered for a moment about what the hell I was doing. Eventually I realized that Draco was now my responsibility, whether anyone liked it or not, and I would be an idiot if I abandoned him. I turned to face the downcast expression of the little Malfoy; he was holding his hands out to me, just like on the platform… Those innocent, sad, teary grey eyes, begging me to hold him, protect him, love him…

I didn't realize how long I stood there just staring at Draco until his hands gave way to exhaustion and fell limp to his sides once more. I shook myself out of my daze and picked Draco up. He was breathing really hard- psh, of course he was, the kid was crying, for god's sake. I stroked his back until his breathing stabilized once more. He had fallen asleep. Good thing too, Hermione would kill me if she found out I aggravated her patient into exhaustion. But now that he was asleep, no one could tell if he was aggravated before, he just looked…well…asleep, and peaceful.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I shouldn't have interrogated you like that. Forgive me, okay? I just wanted so desperately to help… You know how much it hurts me to know that someone punished you? I don't want you to get hurt…" I whispered soothingly, despite knowing that my listener was already in dreamland. "This time I mean it when I say I won't leave you. You're mine for now," I paused, hesitating whether I should continue my unplanned speech. What's the point? He wasn't even listening.

"Ah hell, you know what, Draco? I think I'm growing attached to you already."

Unknown to me, a tiny smile had formed on the lips of a certain young slytherin.


	5. Chapter 5: Busted?

Acceptance  
>Chapter 5<br>Busted?

I picked up the fallen pillows and placed Draco back under the covers. Remembering that he was still having a stomachache, I placed my hand on the part of the blanket covering his tummy and rubbed it gently. Draco sighed contentedly in his sleep as I repeated the process. I was still berating myself in my mind for getting him worked up when he was already in pain, and also for bringing up what seemed to be a touchy subject for him.

I sniggered, imagining the look on Snape's face if he saw his star student sleeping in the same room as his most hated student. Oh crap, potions class, there's going to be a test tomorrow! I haven't studied at all despite the reminder Snape gave us about it a month ago. Damn, I better start now. But what about Draco? If I'm taking the test tomorrow, who's going to take care of him when I'm gone? Then again, I can't be skipping classes for the rest of the year can I? This was going to pose as a huge problem. Maybe I should have listened to my friends and inform a professor about this. I doubt any of the professors would let me off for missing today's lessons, let alone lessons I'm about to miss if I don't settle Draco's care-taking issue. There's only ONE logical thing to do now…

"RON!" I whisper as I tap on the window outside the potions classroom. "Ron, Ron, Ron! Over here! Not there, you douchebag. This window HERE."  
>"Harry, Dwayco needa go pottyyy!"<p>

Yes, I had snuck Draco along with me out of the Gryffindor common room and decided to go along with my brilliant plan of asking Ron to be Draco's babysitter for tomorrow. Besides, all he had to do was skip potions for one day like I did, and he's skipped it before last year. So there I was, outside the classroom, with the firm mentality that if I didn't tell Ron now, I would never get a chance to tell him later. Although I wasn't quite sure why I didn't want to wait for him to return to the common room and instead chose to take this terrible risk… Anyway, I failed to get Ron's attention, but someone at the front of the classroom seems to have noticed. I hope it's Hermione, she's the only other person I can trust in that room. Wait…Tall…Dressed in black…Greasy hair…Oh joy, it's Snape.

I grabbed Draco, hid him under my cloak, and was about to make a run for it until my feet were frozen in position. Snape had caught me with some spell.

"Why stop, Harry? Dwayco needa pee. Potty is THAT way."  
>"Um, Draco…In case you haven't noticed…"<br>"Busted?"  
>"Busted."<p>

Severus Snape strode towards us with a furious gleam in his eye, "Well, well, Mr. Potter. Finally deciding to show up for class I see. Well you're 50 minutes late, so 50 points from Gryffindor."

"That's not fair, professor. I was caught up with something really important."  
>"What could be more important than potions class? 10 more points for making up silly excuses."<br>"Oh I don't know, maybe it's something to do with your favorite student."  
>"Where are you going with this, Potter? 10 more points for not going straight to the point."<br>"What the HELL?"  
>"20 more points for swearing."<br>"Oh my god, you just enjoy taking away points from me don't you, you son of a-"

SLAP!

…

Thanks Hermione. Without that slap, I would probably have reduced Gryffindor's points to below negative.

"Miss Granger, I hope you have a perfectly good reason for interrupting our little conversation."  
>"As a matter of fact, I do," she said smugly, then pulled my cloak open, revealing Draco hiding under it. Snape's eyes were bulging. A series of gasps from the class followed soon after.<p>

"Hermione!" I shouted. "I thought we were going to keep this a secret!"

She ignored me and tried to explain to the astounded professor about me having to take care of Draco, but he would hear none of it. He turned to the rest of the class that were all sticking their heads out of the windows and doors, observing the frightened Draco. "Class dismissed."

"Potter, my office now."

Snape walked into his office and muttered a counter curse, freeing my legs. I was thinking about escaping but Hermione shot me a death glare before leaving, making me decide that my life would be at more risk if I had left with her than if I had left with Snape. With that, I held Draco tightly in my arms and took small footsteps after the professor.

The room was darker than I remembered, carrying a more unfriendly atmosphere with it. Snape didn't look pleased at all, and I braced myself for all sorts of insults and attacks, but only to be shocked by Snape's soft voice asking," when did this all begin?"

"At the start of the year, sir. I found him alone at King's Cross and took him to Hogwarts with me."  
>"Well, Potter, you should know very well that you are incapable of caring for Mr. Malfoy-"<br>"NO. I think you don't get the picture here at all. He was ALONE and DE-AGED, mind you. Would you rather me leave him there to get kidnapped or raped or something? I know I'm just a teenager, okay? But what else can I do? I HAVE to take care of him, he's defenseless and scared. Sure, maybe you're right about me being incapable, but I will do the best I can to protect him! I'm not going to let you talk me into abandoning him again, because I'm telling you, NOTHING you say is going to make me leave Draco, NOTHING!"

A cold, eerie silence had enveloped the room. I wasn't sure what came over me, but I had become very defensive and protective of Draco. I was certainly not ready to leave him.

"Wow." Snape said, still in shock. "That was a rather impressive speech, Mr. Potter. But I never intended to make you abandon Mr. Malfoy. What I was going to say was 'you should know very well that you are incapable of caring for Mr. Malfoy alone, and I would be more than willing to help you handle him as well as find some sort of antidote to bring him back to his teenage self.'"

"Oh" was all I managed to say. Damn, I must have sounded like a retard. What was I thinking? Of course Snape would want to help Draco, he was his favorite student after all.

Then Snape did one of the weirdest, rarest things ever. He. Smiled.

"Hello, Draco," he said, bending over to stroke Draco's cheek. Draco wasn't that frightened somehow, maybe it was some sort of 'Slytherin-bond' or whatever. He smiled at Snape and waved.

"So, Potter," Snape shifted his focus to me again. "What do you think? Are you going to accept my offer or not?"

"I guess I can't say no to someone who's going to take away more points if I did, so yes," I shrugged.  
>"Good choice potter, good choice."<p>

Then I felt a tug on my shirt, "yes, Draco?"

"Dwayco peeded on Harry."

Damn. How could I have missed that…

…

Snape laughed- he ACTUALLY laughed. "Looks like you need more help with this than I expected. Come along, you two."


	6. Chapter 6: Dumbo at the Door

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm so happy to have received a couple more reviews than last time Draco loves you! ^^ Keep them coming please, I'd really appreciate that! Okay, school starts tomorrow for me so the next update might take a while. If you guys spam me with reviews telling me to hurry up though, I just might strive to make the effort. LOL. Anyway, here's chapter 6, enjoy!

Acceptance  
>Chapter 6<br>Dumbo at the Door

"Harry what happened?" Ron greeted me at the Gryffindor common room; a greeting quite predictable, yet not pleasing to the ears. He wasn't the only one. The ENTIRE Gryffindor house began bombarding me with questions…

"Harry! What did Snape do to you?"  
>"Nothing."<br>"Harry! Are you in trouble?"  
>"Not really?"<br>"Harry! Where's Draco?"  
>"With Professor Snape."<br>"Harry! Why are you taking care of a freaking slytherin?"  
>"Because I felt like it, you douche."<br>"Harry! Can I SQUEEZE Draco?"  
>"The hell?"<br>"Harry! Did you pee your pants?"

"Harry!" "Harry!" "Harry!" "Harry!" "Harry!"

"Oh my god would you guys just shut up already?" I bellowed. Yes, I was in a rage. I didn't like questions being thrown in my face like that. Just then, Snape entered with Draco, who was now wearing a miniature Slytherin uniform. There was a mixture of "aww's" at the presence of Draco, as well as "boo's" at the presence of Snape.

"Harry!" Draco pointed at me, hopping into my arms.

"Well, Potter. I seem to recall you telling me that you wanted to keep Draco's presence a secret, but from what I've seen for the past few hours, I believe that you have failed. Epically."  
>"No need to tell me that, professor." I rolled my eyes.<p>

I turned to face the crowd of Gryffindors who stood before me, obviously wanting some answers. Well, I guess I'd have to tell them sooner or later anyway, sooooo…

"It all started when I found Draco at King's Cross…"  
><em>10 minutes later~<em>  
>"So Professor Snape offered his services to me, and now, I would really appreciate it if you guys keep this all a secret. I know that the whole potions class witnessed the sight and all, but still, if anyone asks you about the de-aged little fart here, just avoid their questions. I wouldn't want Dumbledore to find out, to be honest. He'll go all 'Harry, Harry~ Do the right thing~ Let me take it from here~ You can leave Draco with me~' …and I don't want that, because God knows what he's going to do with him. I trust Dumbledore about lots of stuff, but caretaking? Family? Please, the guy doesn't even mention a damn thing about his own family. I believe Draco is much safer in my hands so please…" I subconsciously fell to my knees. "Don't tell me to leave him…"<p>

Silence befell the room until Ron stepped forward, "we're with you all the way, mate."  
>"Me too," Hermione chimed in.<p>

They turned to face the rest of the Gryffindors with a pleading look in their eyes. I was so afraid that I would hear a voice saying 'I'm telling Dumbledore', but it never came. When I looked up, everyone was smiling at me. Beginning with Neville, they all gave me their word to keep their lips sealed whenever it came to the topic of Draco de-aging. In fact, some of them even offered to babysit Draco whenever they could!

"Brilliant! So every day, there's going to be about five shifts, and five people have to skip one class per day. Agreeable for all?" I remarked, holding out a chart I just drew of the daily babysitting shifts.

"Agreeable? HELL YEAH!"

Everyone turned to face the source of the sudden response. It was SNAPE. Shocker…

"Uh…ahem…What I meant to say was…Excellent idea, Mr. Potter. But this does not give any of you an excuse to skip tests from my class, Draco will be well hidden with me during them," Snape said in a half confident, half shaky voice, still embarrassed by his own voice going in a high-pitched 'hell yeah'. Everyone remained speechless, eyes having a fixed gaze on the potions master. "Well, seeing as I am not needed for now, I shall take my leave. By the way, I left Draco's spare clothes on your bed, Potter. And for today, I will be doing you Gryffindors a huge favor, you get to skip ALL your classes, I'll send a letter to the professors telling them that there's something more urgent for you to attend to. The only reason I can be bothered to help you this time is because I want little Draco to feel welcome and not feel awkward with his new so-called family. So, spend your time today taking care of him, play some lame games, and look forward to tomorrow's test. Good luck." With that, the potions master exited the room.

Hermione closed the door and the atmosphere immediately lightened up. I was pleased to see that all the Gryffindors were being nice to Draco and not treating him like Slytherin scum. Parvati was cuddling him now, and some others were waving toys and making all sorts of amusing gestures at him. Draco seemed to be enjoying all the attention. Seeing that made me smile; the poor boy had been through so much, the least we could do was shower him with the love that he needed. Screw the potions test, we'll just fail together. Maybe Snape would give us some mercy points for taking care of his star student.

"Lookie! Dwayco can do magic without wand!"

I stole a glance at Draco showing off his amazing magic skills of making a grape disappear- in his mouth… The Gryffindors found this adorably amusing and clapped and cheered. I shook my head while laughing to myself; he's such a show off, even at this young age. Simply too cute beyond words…

Unable to contain myself, I ran towards Draco in a dramatically slow motion way, calling his name. Draco responded immediately by squeezing himself out of Parvati's grasp and attempted to imitate my slow motion run. He eventually gave up and sped forward to my feet, jumping excitedly, wanting to be carried. I lifted him up as he squealed in delight and rocked him about in my arms. My friends had never seen me express myself so freely in front of them before and were bewildered by the scene taking place before them. The rest of the night was spent with joy, hysterical laughter and love for the new addition to our 'family'. Sure, he's a Slytherin, but he'd always be welcome to spend time with us, Gryffindors. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for his teenage self though…

Soon, it was nightfall, and everyone headed back to their dorms. I was about to close the door when Hermione held it open abruptly, "Harry, I know everything seems fun and cool now, but I think Dumbledore's going to get wind of what we're doing soon. We can't keep hiding. So, just be mentally prepared…" Just as suddenly as she spoke, she departed.

I didn't really take Hermione's words seriously since I just had the most totally awesomest party with Draco and the rest, and I was just going to go to sleep after this. Ron was already way ahead of me.

"Harryyyy," I heard Draco's angelic voice behind me. He sat cross legged on my pillow, holding out a piece of parchment. "What's dis?"

"You're a cheeky little baby, aren't you? You actually managed to find and take the Marauder's Map from inside my pillow case. Strange how nobody noticed it there though… Here, let me show you something really cool."

I held out my hand and Draco gave the parchment to me. I grabbed my wand and pointed it at the parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Gradually, the parchment revealed itself to be a map of Hogwarts. I chuckled as Draco began pointing eagerly at all the names he saw, then he saw his own name and mine.

"Dwayco Malfoy!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, Dray, that's you," I stroked his hair. "Harry Potty!" "It's Potter…And yup, that's me. You see this square area here? This is me and Ron's room. Look to the left and right, those are the other Gryffindors sleeping in their rooms," I squinted my eyes to look at the clock by Ron's bed. "…Which is what we should be doing too. Come on, Draco, let's go to sleep." But Draco didn't budge. He was clearly still amused with the Marauder's Map. "Dumbo Door!" He exclaimed, pointing at a spot on the map. I glanced lazily at him, "there is nothing dumb about my door, Draco baby, give me the map and let's sleep okay?"

"Lookie, Harry! Dumbo Door! Albus Dumbo Door!"

Hold the phone…Albus…Dumbo…Door?

I snatched the map away from Draco who looked shocked at my rough actions. "Sorry, Dray, let me just find something real quick…" Then I froze. According to the map, right outside my door, stood a pair of footprints, marked above them was the name 'Albus Dumbledore'.


	7. Chapter 7: Negotiations

Author's Note: Wassaaaaaaaaap? Hope you guys have been enjoying the story~ I've been receiving more email notifications than expected regarding 'favorite story', 'favorite author', and whatnot, but barely any reviews! What's thiiiissssssssss? Come on, you guys, you can do better than that, I know you guys are reading, and I'd really like more reviews. Authors need inspiration to write their stories~ And where does the inspiration come from? Well a big part of it comes from you guys. If you don't wanna see this story abandoned just like the many others you've stumbled upon with the author going "Oh, I've lost the inspiration and I'm not gonna continue this story anymore", then pleeeease read and review ^^ It's been two hectic days of school despite it being the first two days of junior year, but hey, I survived TO WRITE THE STORY, so bring on those reviews 'kay? Behold. Chapter 7.

Acceptance  
>Chapter 7<br>Negotiations

_I snatched the map away from Draco who looked shocked at my rough actions. "Sorry, Dray, let me just find something real quick…" Then I froze. According to the map, right outside my door, stood a pair of footprints, marked above them was the name 'Albus Dumbledore'._

Shit…What the hell is he doing outside my room?  
><em>KNOCK KNOCK.<br>_Draco cocked his head and peered over my shoulder curiously.  
><em>KNOCK KNOCK.<br>_"Who the fu-" "SHHH!" Ron had woken up to the knocking.  
><em>KNOCK KNOCK.<br>_"Dumbledore's at the door, pretend to be asleep!"  
>"Is this some kind of joke?"<br>"Joke?" Draco tilted his head.  
>KNOCK KNOCK.<br>"WHO'S THERE?" Draco flashed a broad grin in the direction of the door.  
>"Draco this isn't a knock knock joke!"<br>"WHOOOOOO'S THEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?"

"Alohomora."

The door creaked open, and a tall figure appeared at the entrance. The moment Draco caught sight of a white chunk of hair below the man's chin, he did the most logical thing any three year old would do; cry.

Dumbledore literally jumped when he heard the loud wailing. Even Ron covered his ears.

"Hush, Dray…It's just a beard. It's nomal."  
>"HAIR! TOO MUCH HAIR! IT'S LIKE A BUSH! DWAYCO NO LIKE BUSH!"<br>"Harry, may I ask, what is the little Malfoy bawling about?"  
>"He's frightened of your beard, Dumbledore, sir."<p>

Awkward moment…

I found that I had lost the ability to explain the situation here, but Dumbledore seemed to have already known what happened. He sat down on the bed beside me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and was about to say something when Draco began screaming about a bush in his face and Dumbledore backed away once more.

"Harry, could I see you in my office for a moment?" He began.

I nodded and told Ron to take care of Draco while I was gone. Draco clung onto my pants, squeezing his eyes shut. I bent down to pat him on the head, "be good, Dray. I'll be back really soon, Ron will take care of you for a while, okay?"  
>"THE BUSH will eat you up!"<br>"No, he won't, baby…I'll come back as fast as I can."

He slowly loosened his grip and finally released me, I followed Dumbledore out of my room. When I turned around, Draco was still standing in the same spot, head hanging low. I felt so bad for leaving him there while I was going off with the scary bush-beard man that he was afraid of.

With that, I shut the door and followed Dumbledore's slow but steady pace to his office, eventually entering the familiar room which I seemed to visit every year, just because I'm Harry Potter, and weird things always happen to me. In fact, I believe I'm the only student who has visited the office this many times.

"Sit, Harry," Dumbledore invited me to take a seat and I was nervous already. Maybe I should just recite the same speech I did to Snape…

"No, Harry I do not need to hear your long speech about protecting Draco."  
>"Did you just read my mind, sir? Because I can sue you for that."<br>"As much as I wish to say yes, I did not. In fact, I overheard your conversation with Severus this afternoon, a particularly loud conversation I must add. I would just like to know one thing, are you sure you can handle him on your own?"

Deep down inside my heart, I knew that I really wanted to take care of Draco. For these few years, although I seemed to have hated him on the outside, my heart was beating for him, and him alone. Seriously, how would anyone react to the famous goodie two shoes Potter having a crush on Slytherin ice prince? In order to keep my feelings under wraps, I had to resort to treating him like an enemy for so long. I had always longed to have Draco Malfoy by my side every day and night, if possible, I'd claim him as my own, but it was impossible. Now that I DO have the little Malfoy with me, I would definitely do the best I can to take care of him and be with him while it lasts. Who knows when Snape's antidote potion would be ready? Heck, Draco might revert back to his teenage self tomorrow for all I know. I want to take care of the boy. But CAN I?

"Professor, I don't think you understand how I'm feeling right now."  
>"Yes, Harry, maybe I don't. However, there are some things you have to bear in mind; Draco has been de-aged, your main mission now is supposed to be to find out how this happened and why. Let Severus work on the aging potion. You need to know that you are only a temporary guardian-"<br>"What are you getting at, professor…"  
>"Nothing…Nothing…I'm just saying," He took a breath. "Don't get too attached, young Potter. Keep your feelings at bay. When he goes back to normal, which he will, I promise, there's a strong likelihood that he will forget everything that happened, and become the snob you knew last year."<p>

Oh God, I have a bad feeling that he knows…

"Forgive me for my straightforwardness, sir, but it seemed for a moment that you're saying I have feelings for Draco."  
>"Well, Harry, I hate to point it out but you have even started calling him by his first name."<br>"I do not have any feelings whatsoever for that useless prick! I'm forced to call him that because he's now an innocent kid, and it just sounds odd to call him by his last name."  
>"Draco isn't here to hear whatever you say now, is he?"<br>"…It just became a habit…" I gritted my teeth. "…sir…"

Dumbledore seemed to have sensed my state of panic and decided to dismiss the topic. I turned to leave, but before I could, Dumbledore entrusted me to go on the mission he mentioned earlier: find out how he got de-aged, and why. I personally entrusted myself to embark on another mission; I wanted to find out who the crap would punish the poor boy like that and I swear I would torture him till his internal organs spill out.

As I strolled along the corridor back to the Gryffindor common room, I recalled how Draco reacted to me asking questions about being deserted at King's Cross, and figured that if it posed as a problem then, I wouldn't get a different response now.

"How am I supposed to do this? I don't want to see him cry and throw a tantrum again…" I muttered under my breath. Finally I reached the door, and opened it. Ron was asleep, affirmed from the disturbingly loud snoring. But there, sitting in front of me, facing the door where I departed moments ago, was little Draco. His sleepy eyes were already half closed, but they lit for a few seconds when he saw me.

"Harry! You din't die! Dwayco happy!" he exclaimed with whatever energy he had left.  
>"Haha, I told you the bush man wouldn't do anything to me."<p>

Draco's lips formed a small, adorable smile as his eyes began closing again. I stepped forward to pick him up, "Draco…baby…you shouldn't have stayed up just to wait for me…" I grinned as he nuzzled into my chest, why was he so irresistibly cute? Even at this age!

Seeing no further response from the young Malfoy, I slipped under the covers and laid him next to me. I hesitated for a moment, then decided to wrap my arms around Draco. He felt so soft and cuddly. My palms rested on his still swollen tummy, wow, the cupcakes were taking LONG to digest. I hope he doesn't feel any more pain... Yeah, I guess I was going to hug him to sleep. My little Draco… He's such a darling baby now, how did he become such a snobbish bastard before? Oh well, he's my snobbish little bastard then.

Draco began mumbling some inaudible words in his sleep, I only managed to catch the word 'love'. This led me to question myself if I really did love the little guy. I could just admit it, or I could just live in denial. Even if I did love him, no one needed to know that. I sighed, remembering I still had a task to accomplish.  
>"Oh, Draco…what am I going to do with you…"<p> 


	8. Chapter 8: Time Spent With You

Author's note: I can't believe I'm updating even after only receiving ONE review after I requested for more…haha…well guys, I'm just taking advantage of the fact that school's only JUST started so I have some spare time to write this. Who knows when the next update might be when homework and projects and other stuff kick in? I might update again tomorrow if there are any requests, but till then~ Enjoy Chapter 8 of Acceptance

Acceptance  
>Chapter 8<br>Time Spent With You

Two months had passed since the Draco incident and it was Christmas before we knew it. Now that Dumbledore knew, technically the whole school knew about it as well. Every day, Draco would follow me to all of my classes and stay as close to me as possible, except when there were dueling practices. He nearly got hit by Lavender's spell once but thankfully was shielded by Hermione who ended up spending about a month in the infirmary. –cough cough- Sorry Hermione –cough-

Over the two months, Draco became more and more attached to the Gryffindors, especially me of course! This caused an arousal of disapproval from the Slytherin house who claimed that Draco should be living in their common room instead of ours. Every now and then, Crabbe and Goyle would be seen pacing outside our room, as seen on the Marauder's Map. I recalled that they had tried to kidnap Draco on Blaise Zabini's command before, but Draco managed to free himself somehow, but since then, he would always hide whenever he saw any Slytherins. Ron, Hermione and I kept a closer watch on him after that incident. For now, Draco was safe in our hands, and the only thing to ruin my mood was the fact that I still hadn't accomplished my mission of finding out more regarding the de-aging situation. Personally, I thought Snape would have made the potion by now, but I guess that's not how things were. Crap… How am I supposed to make him talk…

"Harry! Harry! Harry!"

Ah, his cheerful voice was like a bell chiming in my heart. How could I choose to ignore him? I'll just think about the de-aging thing later…

"Hey, Draco sweetie, what's up?"  
>"Draco wanna play in the snow~ It's so pretty!"<p>

I laughed. Draco was growing up, he finally stopped calling himself Dwayco, but he was still speaking in third person. Hmm…gotta tell Hermione to work on those grammar lessons with him…

"Harry! Did you hear Draco? Draco. Wanna. Play. In. The. Fwuckin. Snow!"  
>"OH GOD! DID YOU JUST SWEAR?"<br>"Swear? Draco dun wana swear. Draco wana play in the fwuck-"  
>"Okay, okay! But Draco, promise me you won't ever say the F word again. You're too young for that. Now who the hell taught you that word?"<br>"Ron Weeeeeeeeeasley!"

My best friend had just taught my baby Draco how to swear. Brilliant. As usual, I did the only logical thing possible…

"RON!"  
>"Blimey! What do you want, Harry?"<br>"Did you teach Draco how to swear?"

…Silence… Draco just smiled innocently behind me. Suddenly…

"Fwuck you, Ron!" Draco smiled, both hands flipping him off.  
>"Right back at ya!" Ron flashed a broad grin, doing the same thing.<p>

Wow. This had definitely gone out of hand. "Ron, why did you teach him that?"  
>"It's not my fault, mate. He overheard me talking to Seamus and Dean when we were complaining about Snape. And we ALL know, Harry, that whenever a conversation involves him, we swear."<br>"True," I shrugged. "BUT STILL!"  
>"Fine!" Ron said in an exasperated tone, then turned to Draco. "Okay, you listen to me now, little guy. Don't ever say those totally awesome cool words that I taught you."<br>Draco nodded.  
>I smiled, "good job, Ron."<br>"If you want to swear, you have to wait until your birthday."  
>"WHAT THE FUCK, RON!"<br>Draco laughed and said okay. I gave up.

After a few more minutes getting dressed in winter clothes, Ron and I brought Draco out into the snowy grounds of Hogwarts and began teaching him how to make a snowman.

"Now all we need is a carrot nose," Ron made a thinking pose. Draco chimed in, "easy! Just use wand as snowman nose!" With that, he swiped Ron's wand and shoved it into the snowman's face. Ron's facial expression was priceless; obviously he couldn't believe a little kid just managed to successfully steal his wand like that. Indeed, he was meant to be a skilled and crafty wizard. Somehow the wand had reacted, being stuck in snow, and shot out some random spell which hit a Hufflepuff student walking in the distance. Thankfully he was alone and no one saw as he collapsed to the ground.

"That certainly went well," Ron laughed, Draco following suit.  
>"Ron, I have no idea why I'm letting Draco get influenced by your ways. That guy could have been hurt, mate."<br>"Who cares? It was a Hufflepuff."

I considered the undeniable truth of Ron's statement and proceeded to make another snowman with Draco. We eventually had a snowball fight, which was quite enjoyable actually, I never had so much fun for a long time. Thanks to Draco, I had relived a part of my younger self who longed to play in the snow but was forbidden to.

Draco suddenly hit me with a snowball and ducked under his fort mischievously. Damn, I thought he was on my side! I snuck away from my fort and hid behind a tree. Draco signaled to Ron to corner my fort. As they approached, I gathered a huge bunch of snow and hurled it at them when they found my fort empty.

SPLAT!

Ron's head soon emerged from under the pile of snow, spluttering. I was beginning to worry if I had suffocated Draco under the snow, but my frown disappeared when I saw Draco's head pop out from the white pile as well. We exploded in laughter. God, we were a childish mess; a childish mess who just had a ball of a time.

We had spent more than an hour fooling around there until I noticed Draco trembling violently and sneezing every few minutes. I sprinted to his side, "baby, what's wrong?"

"Draco cold…"  
>"Come on, let's take you back inside so we can give you a nice, warm bath."<p>

As we walked to the Gryffindor common room, I could feel Draco shivering in my arms. I hugged him tighter and rubbed his back in attempt to make him feel warmer. Over the two months, even Ron had started to grow fond of the Slytherin child, and was getting worried at the sight of him shivering like that. I could have sworn that Draco's lips turned a light shade of purple in the cold. I quickened my pace and within minutes, we were back in the room. As promised, I gave Draco a warm bubble bath. He stopped shivering but was still sneezing every now and then. Ah damn, Hermione's going to have to visit her youngest patient again.

I grabbed a giant towel to clean Draco dry and helped him put on a set of comfortable winter pajamas. "There, now you feel better, don't you?"  
>Draco nodded weakly.<br>"You silly little liar, I bet you're still cold."  
>Draco let out a small laugh and unwillingly admitted to the truth in my statement. I pulled him into my arms again and cuddled with him in bed. Eventually, he dozed off, and I went with Ron to call Hermione over.<p>

"Hey, Harry. Have you ever wondered what would happen the day Draco goes back to his teenage self and becomes…well…Malfoy again?" Ron questioned. I answered honestly that I did in fact think about it, but the thoughts were never good ones. To me, the outcome would be Draco forgetting everything we did and become a bully again. I really hated the thought of that…

Ron sensed the solemnness is my tone and placed a hand on my shoulder, "don't worry, mate. It'll turn out find in the end. It always does, doesn't it? You're Harry freaking Potter." I smiled; thank god I had my best friend with me. But another thing still worried me; what if Snape created the potion before I even got a chance to ask Draco what happened before I found him at King's Cross? Would I never get to find out who hurt my precious angel?

"You okay?" Ron waved his hand in my face. Gah, I have got to stop spacing out in front of people…  
>"Yeah, don't worry about it."<p> 


	9. Chapter 9: Knowing

Author's note: Thanks so much, reviewers! I'm sorry this update took quite a while but I hope you guys understand that I'm studying for SATs and trying to cope with the hell lotta school work I have this year so…bear with me! _ the next few chapters would probably take this long or longer but please don't stop reading! I'll try to update as regularly as possible… oh and keep the reviews comin~ those really inspire me to carry on :D So here's chapter 9 of Acceptance~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 9<span>  
><span>Knowing<span>

"He should be okay now, I cast a warming spell on him."  
>"Thanks Hermione, you're awesome."<p>

The door closed shut as Hermione departed. Ron and I had located her and brought her back with us to treat Draco's cold. The little slytherin had fallen asleep. I sat still, mesmerized by the little body that lay on the bed beside me. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was the meanest dumb shit I've ever seen. Now, he was vulnerable. If I wanted revenge, I could have it anytime. But somehow, I just didn't hate him anymore, all that feeling of payback was long gone; gone along with Draco's age.

"Hey, Harry. I'm gonna go find Hermione okay?"  
>"Sure, don't knock her up too badly."<br>"You're a dick, mate."  
>"Yeah I love you too, get out, you fool," I laughed. My best friend was in love with my other best friend. Oh the irony~ I had known it for quite a while, but just never really cared. Anyway, back to watching my Draco…<p>

"Harry…" his voice sounded so weak.

"Draco baby, you're supposed to be resting and-"  
>"Could you tell Draco a story?"<p>

A story? Seriously? Draco had never asked me to tell him a story before… And no one had ever read ME stories when I was young. God, where has my childhood gone…

"Okay, err…how about the story of the potions master?"  
>"Potions master?"<br>"Yeah, you know, like Professor Snape?"

Draco shot me a confused glance. I just began telling him some random story I made up on the spot, in fact, I was quite amazed with myself for coming up with such an awesome story!

"So long time ago, there was a professor called Snape. He was a potions master, so basically he taught students how to deal with stupid things like potions."  
>"Ooooooh…"<br>"Yeah, then his favorite student was called Harry Potter."  
>"That's you!"<br>"You bet it is, Draco. Harry Potter was the best student to ever walk the earth. But Snape grew jealous that Harry was better than him at potions. So, the professor gave him detention. The end."  
>"Where's the happy ending?"<br>"Ah, Dray. You gotta know that not all stories have a happy ending…" I couldn't help but think about the dreadful thought again. Come to think of it, my life was like a story. I begin my life as some poor fool with no parents, get looked down on and abused by the Dursleys, go to Hogwarts and get admired by some and hated by others, eventually got myself an arch enemy, who somehow ended up in my hands as a de-aged little cutie, whom I got freaking attached to and…who will forget everything that I did with him when he goes back to normal…

"Harry, Harry, Harry!"  
>"Sorry, baby. What is it?"<br>"Draco has been wondering for long long time…what is professor?"

Ugh, he's a three year old. Of course he doesn't know what's a professor. How could I have missed that after so long… Well, thanks to my story, now he's asking questions to learn stuff. That's a good thing I guess.

"So, let me put this in simple words. Professor is the guy in charge of you. He teaches you stuff. If you do good things, he praises or rewards you. If you do bad things, he punishes you," I tried my best to explain with comprehensible words. Draco paused for a moment before speaking up. His statement was one I didn't foretell he would say:

"Hmm, Draco's Daddy did bad thing, so his professor wanted to punish him. Draco was probably more naughty than Daddy because Draco got punished by professor instead…"

He was revealing things! If I wanted to get any information out of him, now was the time.

"What did Daddy do?" I asked as calmly as possible.

Draco pondered for a few seconds before answering, "Draco heard Professor talking to Daddy one day. He told Daddy to make Draco kill someone to prove Draco's worth or something like that. Draco doesn't really understand. All he knows is that Daddy said "I don't want my son to be a murderer at this age" and then Professor got angry and shot bright light at him. Draco went to hide…"

Oh god…this was more than I could take…At first, my little angel refused to speak and now he was giving me all this information that I found so hard to believe, yet true at the same time.

"And then…?" I asked with a hint of fear in my voice.

Draco sighed and said in a softer tone, "When Daddy came home, Mommy talked to him for long time. Then they went to Draco's room… Mommy was crying, Draco dunno why… Draco forced smile and walked to her and gave her huggie."

That was so sweet, I honestly didn't expect Malfoy to be so close to his Mom…

"And then…" Draco paused. "Daddy hugged Draco too… After while, they let go of Draco and Daddy pointed shiny stick and said one word…"sorry." …Before Draco knew it, Draco was lost at train place…Draco was so scared…Draco dun like Daddy's professor! Daddy's professor must have made Daddy upset! If Daddy wasn't upset, he wouldn't leave Draco!"

There came the tantrum again. Last time when he threw a tantrum, I nearly let him be. That wasn't going to happen this time, the last thing he needed was another person to leave him in his time of need. My heart ached as I saw Draco bury his face in his little hands, trembling, obviously crying. I reached out for him, pretty much expecting to have my hands shoved away or having a pillow thrown in my face like before, but the reaction I received was not like before. Draco ran to me, longing for warmth and comfort, and I was going to give it to him.

This poor boy in my arms right now…who would have thought he had been through so much? I knew something bad had happened but this?

I was desperately trying to fit bits and pieces of Draco's story together while comforting him. "Harry! Please don't leave Draco! Draco dun wanna be alone again…Draco scared!" Draco cried, his tears staining my shirt. But I didn't mind. He was the only one with the privilege of staining my shirt as and when he wanted. Of course I'd rather see him smile than cry…

"Dray…sweetie…don't cry…I promised I wouldn't leave you, remember? I promised you so many times. In fact I…" I gulped before completing my sentence. "I…I love you…"

Draco's wailing reduced to soft whimpers as he looked up with those wide, grey eyes that were filled with tears. "Harry love Draco…? Really…?"

I laughed a little at his innocence. "Yes…really…Harry loves Draco…" I smiled as Draco flashed his signature grin which I missed so much. He threw his short arms around me again and hugged me tightly, "Draco love Harry too…"

My heart was racing, beating out of control. Draco loved me…? Of course it was LITTLE Draco speaking but…I couldn't help it…

Draco…

You have no idea…

What I'd do…

just to hear you say…

those words to me again…

as your teenage self…


	10. Chapter 10: Can't Help It

Author's Note: Once again, thank you for all your reviews! I appreciate them a lot, really. But just on a side-note, I don't really welcome reviews that make no sense. I don't wish to point out names but so far there's been one person who's said some stuff that I do not appreciate. Sorry but comments such as those should be kept to yourselves, thanks. I'm new to writing fanfics and this is only my 2nd story, and the first one with more than one chapter so pleaseeeee be nice to the noob here D: But to ALL the rest of my reviewers, I'll try to satisfy you guys with my story ^^ I'm trying to make it as TOTALLYAWESOME as possible, but I've been having some sorta mind block lately. In fact, I'm amazed that you guys liked the last chapter o.o Thanks! And here's your reward…Chapter 10 has arrived early!

Acceptance  
>Chapter 10<br>Can't Help It

I waited for about fifteen minutes for Draco to fall back into peaceful slumber again before making the tough decision of leaving him in my room to go find Ron and Hermione. I needed to tell them about the information I just got. Sure, Dumbledore needs to know, but whatever, friends ALWAYS come first! Before I left the common room, I appointed Neville to guard the room. Why him? Only because he was the only other Gryffindor cooped up at Hogwarts during vacation…

Conveniently, I caught sight of Ron and Hermione in the distance, doing…oh god, were they making out? ALREADY? Things were happening so fast, first Draco spilled the beans and now my best friends were making out in the open grounds of Hogwarts. As usual, at times like this, I would do the only logical thing possible…

"RON! RON! RON! RON! RON! RON! RON!"

Upon hearing my voice, the two shoved each other away in the blink of an eye, looking red in the face. "God, Harry, why are you always such an extra guy?" Ron spluttered, wiping his mouth. Yup, they had been kissing alright. I strode towards them getting ready to start teasing them, because that's what best friends do to each other in awkward situations like these. But then I recalled what I was here for.

"Sorry to destroy your little moment, guys. But here's some breaking news…"

And so, I told them everything that Draco told me. Basically we came to the conclusion that the 'professor' that Draco spoke of was Voldemort. Obviously Voldemort wanted Lucius Malfoy to turn his son into a killer at an early age, but he refused and ended up getting punished. In an attempt to keep his son safe from the wrath of Voldemort, Draco's parents de-aged him and left him somewhere seemingly safer than Malfoy Manor.

"But why was de-aging necessary? Couldn't he have just left him somewhere safe in his teenage form?" Ron scratched his head.

"Well, Draco's dad obviously was incapable of caring for his son if he left him somewhere else, so he probably expected someone to take him in. And honestly, if you had to pick, would you take care of a teenage snob or an adorable little kid?" I grinned. "See how it all fits now?"

"Yeah, but I bet Lucius Malfoy would NEVER have expected his dear son to end up in the hands of famous Harry Potter," Hermione remarked.

She had a point there. For God's sake, the Malfoys despise me and my guts. How would they react if they found out that Draco was with me? And come to think about it, Draco wasn't exactly 'safe' in my hands because I'm the guy that every evil being tries to kill. Basically, he wasn't much safer than he was before…

"Better than letting him get man raped by voldy," Ron scoffed. "Speaking of Draco, where is the little guy?"  
>"I left him in the room, but don't worry, Neville's protecting him."<br>"…Neville?"  
>"What?"<br>"Seriously, Neville?"

…

"Point taken, Ron. Let's go back to the common room."

With that, the three of us returned and found Neville asleep at my door. Heh, figures. Luckily we were only gone for a few minutes… Hermione woke Neville up and he apologized profusely until Ron slapped him to make him shut up. I turned the knob and found Draco still curled up, asleep on my bed. But he sensed my presence and shot up to a sitting position.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Draco greeted with a bright smile.

Ron waved and Hermione commented on how much healthier he looked than when she last saw him. Draco simply giggled and jumped off the bed, running towards me. I bent down and felt his small body against my chest. Through this whole period of spending time with him, I realized that this little Draco really enjoyed hugs. Then my face fell. Would Draco still hug me when he's back to normal…?

Ron sensed my sudden solemnness again and shook a finger. I nodded, realizing that I needed to stay happy around Draco if I wanted him to be happy too.

"Harry, Draco wanna go play!"  
>"Anything you want, Dray."<br>"Draco wanna have party with the Griff-doors like last time? Remember? Last time was so fun! Every Griff-door love Draco~"

Ron, Hermione and I exchanged glances before breaking the news to the young Slytherin that the only Gryffindor left besides them was Neville. Draco froze for a moment before shaking his hand awkwardly, which obviously meant he was calling the party off. Haha, this little guy was really picky with his friends. No wonder he always hung out with the same standard people last time. Then I began questioning myself about whether Draco would have preferred living with his house instead of the Gryffindors. Well, the clothes Snape provided him with were all green or white. And he also gave him a mini slytherin uniform. Strangely, none of us ever felt weird having a slytherin roaming about in our common room so far. He just seemed to fit in with us.

_KNOCK. KNOCK._

"I'll get it!" Hermione exclaimed, hopping to her feet and opening the door to reveal Dumbledore standing outside.

"!" Draco screamed, pointing frantically at the lush beard before him. I placed my hands over his eyes in exasperation and he calmed down almost immediately. But wait- what's this wetness I'm feeling at my…damn, he peed on the carpet…

"I'm sorry, Harry. Is this a bad time?" Dumbledore asked in a shaky voice, obviously still stunned by the unexpected loud scream from Draco. I shrugged and pointed at the wet stain on the carpet, "Oh I don't know, sir. What do you think?"

"I must apologize for that. But however wise and knowledgeable I may be, I must admit I still failed to figure out what's so scary about my beard…"  
>"Me neither,sir."<br>"Professor Dumbledore."  
>"Yes, Mr. Weasley?"<br>"Have you ever considered getting a shaver…"

Hermione and I rolled our eyes helplessly at the statement. Unbelievable…

As expected, Professor Dumbledore ignored the question and instructed me to go to his office with him. I had no choice but to follow, figuring that he knew Draco had talked and wanted to get answers from me.

"Take care of Draco," I told my friends as I released my hands from Draco's eyes. "Be good, Dray. I'll be back soon."  
>"Dun die Harry! Draco love you!" Draco smiled, but turned away the moment he caught sight of the oh so scary beard. "Yeah, I love you too," I pat his head before turning to leave. I heard Hermione go 'aww' as I shut the door.<p>

As we walked, I heard Dumbledore chuckle. "What is it, sir?" I asked.

"What you said back there to Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore paused. "Did you really mean it?"  
>"Well I…you know…I just…"<br>"Careful, Harry. Remember what I told you before. You must not get too attached."

"Yeah…I Know…"


	11. Chapter 11: In Dreams

Author's note: Hello awesome people out there! :D thx once again for reviewing! More please~ Haha I'm not really sure when the next update's going to be but I promise to update whenever I can. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as the ones before…I have a strange feeling that this story is getting kinda lazily done if you know what I mean :x sorry if I seem to be rushing through the chapters D: Anyway, here's chapter 11! Please read and review all the same~ (sorry its a short chapter...)

Acceptance  
>Chapter 11<br>In Dreams

It's been five months since Draco Malfoy had been left in my care, and just as Dumbledore predicted, I was getting really attached to him. Just the mere thought of him leaving me when he returned to his teenage self could send me into a deep psychological trauma for hours. Of course, the little guy never understood why I would go from a happy, cheerful caretaker into a pessimistic emo bastard so often. And the sad thing about it was that I couldn't tell him the reason behind all those random mood swings. For countless times, I was tempted to just tell him the truth about how he got de-aged. But of course, I couldn't. He wouldn't understand me anyway. Either that, or he would be frightened and maybe leave me, never trusting me again. I couldn't afford that. I didn't want to lose him so soon like that. Heck, I NEVER wanted to lose him.

"Harry, are you dreaming again?" questioned little Draco, tugging at my cloak as we made our way towards charms class. I forced a smile, "yeah, because I simply adore dreaming whenever I can." Draco looked at me with wide, curious eyes, "What does Harry dream about?"

I laughed and picked Draco up, wow he was getting heavier…

"Hmm, what do I dream about, you ask? Well, let's just say I dream about the person I love the most."  
>"Ooooh is that Hermione?"<br>"Ugh, hell no. She's Ron's girl. Absolutely no touchy."  
>"Then who's the lucky girl?"<p>

I sniggered awkwardly. Girl huh…? Why would he think that? Oh right, you don't just go around assuming people are gay…

"I'd rather not say…Sorry,Draco. It's just that I'm not even sure if the erm…girl…likes me back."

That was when Draco's face twisted into an angry frown, "you know what Draco think? Draco think that ANY girl who Harry like is the LUCKIEST girl in the world! Why wouldn't she like Harry? I love Harry! Who wouldn't? Who is she, Harry? Draco will go and beat her up until she says 'I love you' to Harry!"

I stood rooted to the ground as every nerve in my body froze. Everyone else in the corridor seemed to have stopped and stared for quite a while upon hearing Draco's rant. Draco noticed how everyone was staring at us, looked nervously at me, and caught sight of my eyes looking into the distance in awkwardness. He suddenly became extremely shy and hid under my coat like he did the first time I smuggled him to Hogwarts. I shook myself awake from my trance and proceeded with a brisk walk towards charms class, ignoring the countless eyes whose gazes remained fixed on me.

"Damn, we have so much homework today! And I can't believe it's all reading!" Ron groaned as he, Hermione, Draco and I trotted down the stairs after our last class, Divination. Hermione then began arguing with him about how reading was essential for the mind and blah blah blah stuff that I honestly didn't care to hear about either.

Draco hadn't spoken a word today since that awkward moment at the corridor. He suddenly froze in his steps, so did I. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron kept on walking as they carried on with their pointless argument. I bent down to reach Draco's eye level, and he looked at me. His lips were stuck in a frowning shape and his eyes held a tint of worriedness.

"Dray, what's wrong? Why are you so sad?"  
>"Draco…Draco sorry…"<p>

What? Why was he sorry? I didn't get it.

"Is Harry mad at Draco? Draco didn't mean to make people stare! Really!" as he said those words, his eyes glistened as tears threatened to fall from them. "Hey, Draco…shh…It's really okay…It's nothing serious. People stare at others every day, honestly, it's no big deal. There's absolutely no need to get so worried," I pulled him into a hug. Draco sniffed a little as he said, "One time…Daddy brought Draco to DeathEatey meeting and Draco peeded on the floor. Everybody stared…Daddy's professor shot Draco with something that really hurt…and…and…Harry please don't shoot Draco! Draco promise to not make people stare at Harry again!"

Oh god… What on earth had this child been through… All those years of being a bully… Before that, he's probably been treated like shit by other Death Eaters and Voldemort. Maybe that's why Voldemort wanted to train Draco into an early killer to prove his worth…

"Hey, don't cry… I won't do anything to hurt you, I promise. Maybe other stupid people would, but I assure you, I won't ever do that. As long as I'm with you, I won't let anyone lay their filthy hands on you either, okay?" I stroked his cheek, wiping a tear away. Draco smiled between tears and nodded. Then, Ron and Hermione finally realized we weren't with them and came back to find us still stuck at the staircase, sharing a moment. Ron then spoke,

"We were wondering where you guys were…"  
>"Geez, took you long enough."<br>"Whatever. Why's Draco's face all wet?"

"Draco, did Harry make you cry?" Hermione butt in. I knew she was kidding but I noticed that every time something bad happens, everyone goes "did you do it, Potter" or "what the hell did you do this time Mr. Potter" or "What the hell, Harry" …and the list could go on forever. I have to admit, I do cause a lot of trouble. But I wouldn't make Draco cry. At least I'll try not to again…

Draco simply grinned at Hermione and remarked, "Don't worry, Hermione. Harry will never hurt Draco! He loves Draco! And Draco loves Harry!" I knew Hermione was 'aww-ing' again in her mind, I knew Ron was going 'not this mushy stuff again' in his, and I knew I was loving this moment. I was happy that Draco was also getting attached to me, at least now I knew it wasn't one-sided love. Then again…this was a bad thing…right? It would only make it harder for both of us to let go when the potion was ready. But for now, I would enjoy my time with him I guess.

Besides, even if I couldn't have Draco in real life when the time comes, I'd still have him in my dreams. If only Draco knew the person I both dreamt and daydreamt of was none other than him.


	12. Chapter 12: Slytherin in for the Kill

Acceptance  
>Chapter 12<br>Slytherin in for the KILL

"_Draco Malfoy, you get your puny ass over here right now!"  
>"No! Draco belong to Harry!"<br>"You're a freaking Slytherin goddammit!"  
>"Draco live with Griff-dors!"<br>"See, that's why you're turning into one. You're coming with us now."  
>"NO!"<em>

"NO!" I woke up, drenched in sweat. I looked around; darkness, silence, and Draco was still asleep next to me. Damn, I was dreaming again… Actually I wouldn't call it a dream, I'd rather call it a nightmare. I've been having dreams for the past few nights about the Slytherins coming to re-claim their Slytherin prince. But it was just a dream, nothing to worry about right? In fact, the Slytherins haven't been giving us any trouble at all for a long time. TOO long… Then again, they could have been plotting something this whole time. Were they going to take him away from me? Or was it just me being paranoid? Screw this, Draco wouldn't leave with the Slytherins. He doesn't like them. Or does he…? Would he stay with me if he was given the choice…?

Then there was the shuffling of blankets as Draco subconsciously snuggled closer to me. I glanced down at the adorable boy and smiled, running my fingers across his forehead. Of course… Of course he'd stay with me…

"Harry Potter!"  
>"What?"<br>"Detention."

Okay, that's my third detention this week. Apparently I had been falling asleep in class due to lack of sleep. My friends seemed to have noticed the dark circles around my eyes but said nothing about it. But I just couldn't help thinking about the dream. It was the same dream every single time; Slytherins…I believe they were mainly Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle…forcing Draco to go back to live with them in their common room. The furthest I ever managed to reach in the dream was the part where Draco got grabbed roughly by Blaise and thrown into a room where sounds of screaming and pain and torture were heard. Every time I woke up from the dream, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again. Even the sight of my cute little Draco laying by my side wouldn't lull me back to sleep. In fact, the more I looked at him, the more I feared that the dream would come true. My worst fear for the past few months was Draco being taken away from me. I didn't intend to let that fear come true… Never…

"Harry, Hermione and I noticed you acting weirdly these days. Mind giving us a little heads up?" Ron asked worriedly as we walked towards transfigurations class. I sighed, preferring not to talk about the dream. God, it was such a horrible nightmare. Each time the thought even crossed my mind, I'd feel like crap for the rest of the day. Then again, talking to my friends about it might do me some good. At least I hoped so.

"…And then I'd wake up and I just can't seem to fall back to sleep again."  
>"Well!"<br>"Well what? You think these dreams might come true or something?"  
>"Err no. I meant 'well, that explains your goddamn panda eyes'."<br>"Thanks, Ron. That made me feel LOADS better."  
>"What do you expect me to say? Listen, just quit worrying about it, mate. It's a freaking dream. And most dreams STAY dreams. Draco's perfectly safe in the common room right now. Who's taking care of him today by the way?"<br>"Sadly it's Neville again, because he says he's sick or something and doesn't want to attend any classes today. So I appointed him to take care of Draco. Besides, I bet Draco's sick of following me around every day."  
>"If you say so…So…about this dream of yours-"<br>"Ugh, class is starting. Talk to you about it later."

~~~MEANWHILE~~~

Draco was cooped up in the Gryffindor common room, with barely anything to do. Neville wasn't exactly what anyone would call 'the most entertaining person on earth', especially when he was feeling under the weather. Usually he'd be walking around and behaving like an idiot. Now he was just walking around and behaving like a sick idiot. Barely any difference there. However, one good thing about being taken care of by Neville was that he would let Draco eat as much as he wanted, probably because he was such a pig himself. All his other care takers would never let him. Time to make use of this golden opportunity…again…

Draco approached Neville and gave a few light tugs at his trousers, "Neville?"  
>Upon hearing the small voice, Neville bent down reluctantly, "What is it, little guy?"<br>"Draco hungry…"  
>"Didn't you eat like…an hour ago?"<br>"Draco still hungry…"  
>"You know, Harry's going to kill me if he finds out I let you pig out so many times. This is the err…what…fourth time you asked me to let you eat something? No more, man."<br>"But…Draco's tummy made noises…"  
>"Well duh, that's probably cause you had too much food and your tummy's telling you to stop. Come on, you don't wanna get as fat as me now do you?"<br>"~"

"I'll go get you some cookies..."  
>"YAY!"<p>

~~~MEANWHILE~~~

I had finished telling Ron every detail about the dream, and Hermione eavesdropped on us and heard about it too. I was getting confused. While Ron told me there was nothing to worry about and that I was being a total dickhead, Hermione began prattling on about dreams being some sort of foreshadowing. Sure I trusted Ron, but as much as I wanted to believe in him more, none of us could deny that Hermione was indeed the smart one. If anyone had a high chance of hitting the nail in the head, it was definitely her. Honestly, I'd rather not believe that Draco was really going to get snatched away from me, but…what were the chances of Hermione being wrong? Besides, there must have been a reason for me to keep experiencing those reoccurring nightmares, which means…Damn, I can't just take a leisurely stroll here, I've got to get back to Draco! Who knows what would happen if I left him alone like that?

I suddenly took off at top speed, with Ron and Hermione confused but following closely behind.

Unknown to me, someone had already gotten nearer to Draco than I was. Someone had somehow gotten into the Gryffindor common room. Someone had found a way past the 'all powerful' Neville Longbottom, the only one there to guard Draco. Someone had located my room. Someone had smirked with pleasure as he turned the doorknob. Someone…was 'slytherin' in for the kill…


	13. Chapter 13: The Torturer & the Tortured

Author's note: woohoo reviews! Sorry about the cliffhanger in the previous chapter, guys, I just had to stop there :x forgive me~ and here's the next chapter! Like I mentioned before, my updates could take a few days or more due to school stuff…Then again, the next update just could be TOMORROW too :D But anyways, Iookie what I've got! Chapter 13 of Acceptance :D Feel free to read, review and enjoy.

Acceptance  
>Chapter 13<br>The Torturer and the Tortured

_Unknown to me, someone had already gotten nearer to Draco than I was. Someone had somehow gotten into the Gryffindor common room. Someone had found a way past the 'all powerful' Neville Longbottom, the only one there to guard Draco. Someone had located my room. Someone had smirked with pleasure as he turned the doorknob. Someone…was 'slytherin' in for the kill…_

Blaise Zabini fiddled for a moment with the knob before deciding it was locked and Alohomora-ed it open. Just as he was about to step into the room, Neville made another attempt to subdue the intruder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Zabini? How did you even find out the Gryffindor password?" He shouted, aiming his wand at the Slytherin. Blaise shook his head, " I have ways of getting what I want. You, on the other hand, do not. Lower that wand, fatass, I'm just here to claim something that belongs rightfully to the Slytherin house."

"You even try to lay your filthy hands on Draco Malfoy and I swear I'll…"  
>"You'll what, Gryffindork?"<br>"Look, he belongs to Harry now, so just back off!"  
>"Hell no. I came here for him, and I'm going to get him whether freaking Potter likes it or not. Petrificus totallus!"<p>

Neville fell onto the ground, frozen with a hideous expression on his face which looked as if he was about to swear. But nevertheless, he could do nothing except watch the intruder knock on the door.

Draco, who was playing with Ron's shoes and making them dance, heard the gentle knocking and immediately his face lit up, "Harry! Harry! You home early! Draco missed you! Did Harry miss Draco?" As he struggled to reach for the doorknob, the door swung open and threw him off his feet, hitting him in the face. Draco rolled over, grimacing slightly and looked up. His face was contorted into a fierce Malfoyish glare when he saw who it was at the door, "you not Harry…"

"Of course I'm not, Malfoy. That would be an insult. Now come along, time to go home."  
>"Draco is home!"<br>"What the fuck is wrong with you? We're in the GRYFFINDORK common room. You need to return to the Slytherin common room where you belong."  
>"Draco not Slythery! Draco Griff-dor! Fwuck off!"<p>

Blaise paused for an awkward moment due to the unexpected swear from Draco. –cough cough- courtesy of Ron Weasley –cough-

"That's it…Come here, Malfoy, you little shit!" Blaise snarled as he reached for the three year old, who rolled under the bed. Draco was frightened, nobody had tried to grab him so harshly like that before. And he believed he was a Gryffindor now, no way was he going back with the damn Slytherin!

"REDUCTO!"

The bed exploded above Draco's head as he screamed in fear. "You can't hide from me, Malfoy." Blaise snatched him up by his head and sent a punch at his ribs, laughing sadistically as his victim clutched his chest in agony. "Now, now, I don't mean to hurt you, but it's just what we Slytherins do. We simply adore seeing others in pain, regardless of who it is. Besides, you're a Slytherin, you'll get used to it-oh WAIT! You've always been the one bossing all of us around, of course you're not used to being the target instead. You know what, Malfoy? Tables have turned. I'm the boss of you now. And I say we return to our common room so I can torture you some more."

With that, Blaise kidnapped Draco and departed from the Gryffindor common room, leaving Neville petrified, and the room in an absolute mess.

~~~MEANWHILE~~~

"Hey guys, I think we should head back to the common room."  
>"Harry, class is about to start in like 10 minutes."<br>"I don't know, I have a tingling feeling at the back of my head telling me to go back or something bad's going to happen. Weird."  
>"Yeah, weird. Whatever, mate. Just stay put. I'm sure everything's alright."<br>"Okay…" I sighed and returned to my seat in class. "I hope you're right, Ron…"

~~~MEANWHILE~~~

Blaise headed for his room, with a struggling Draco under his cloak. He was greeted by Crabbe and Goyle at the entrance. Grinning devilishly, he smirked, "Guess who's back…" and he lifted the cloak, revealing the smallest member of their house. "Holy shit, Potter let you take him back?" Crabbe and Goyle shouted in unison. "No, you dumb fucks. I snagged him back. I told you guys before, whatever I want, I GET. Now if you two don't mind, I'm taking Malfoy to my room to get him more…comfortable in this new, homily environment…" Blaise said as he made his way to his room. The two didn't move a muscle, watching their fellow Slytherin take their former ringleader away.

The moment the door closed, Draco was flung onto the floor with such a large amount of force that Blaise swore he heard bones crack. Draco struggled to get up, filled with a mixture of pain and confusion. Why was this guy attacking him for no reason?

"Take…" Draco shot his attacker the familiar glare. "Take…Draco…back…HOME!"  
>"Malfoy, you ARE home! God, what the hell did the Gryffindorks do to you? You're freaking brainwashed by them!"<br>"Draco wanna go home! Draco wanna find Harry!"  
>"He's the reason you've become like this, isn't he? You know what, someone's got to knock some sense into you, and I'd GLADLY be the one to have the honor of doing so."<p>

Before Draco had any chance to fully restore his energy back, Blaise had pinned him against the wall and punched him in the stomach. Tears were already starting to well up in the tormented grey eyes. It was a bad time to be punched in the stomach right after a series of heavy meals…

Blaise tilted his head for a moment, "Malfoy, you've gotten fat. What ever happened to the skinny bastard I knew?" Draco didn't respond, too stunned by the sudden pain. Blaise then bared his teeth sadistically, "you know, you make a pretty good punching bag. I wonder why I never realized that before." Then he began poking at Draco's slightly rounded tummy that contained the four meals Neville had fed him, which was something Draco absolutely hated. Poking and prodding always made his stomachaches worse. Although he wasn't having a stomachache now, the punch to his tummy was already as good as one. Draco quivered in fear, sensing another punch coming. He squeezed his eyes shut, he wasn't going to open them again… "not until Harry comes!" he thought.

The next few minutes were the same as the ones before, if not worse. Blaise seemed to take delight in abusing his former 'friend', if that's what he called it. Draco was thrown around, kicked, punched, slapped, smashed and he could do nothing in his defense. Blaise was way too fast, Draco was way too small and weak to run away, let alone attack back. All he could do was stay abused until Blaise got tired. And hopefully…hopefully…

"Harry…please…help…"


	14. Chapter 14: Custody?

Author's note: Daaaaaamn, Neville's so useless in the previous chappy wasn't he? And I'm so sorry about the Draco bashing and extreme cruelty of Blaise. DON'T KILL ME! I understand that some people don't really enjoy fics with 'unecessary violence'. I promise, this chapter will be the LAST of the unnecessary bashing. If you really can't bring yourself to read on, I guess I'll just have to say 'the next chapter's coming up soon so don't give up on the story yet! _) Once again, thanks for the reviews! I'll try to take them into account and make the story more enjoyable~ Also, I'd like to know, how many of you think I should actually make the chapters longer? Because I could try working on that if necessary :x Anyway, love you guys Here's chapter 14~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 14<span>  
><span>Custody?<span>

"You hear something, Crabbe?" Goyle asked, turning his head to face the direction in which Blaise had left. He could have sworn he heard crashing sounds and some weird cries coming from there, but he couldn't be too sure. Crabbe shrugged and waved his companion off. Goyle sat back in his armchair and decided against investigating the source of the noise.

"Blaise…stop…please!"  
>"Oh looks like you remember my name now. Guess what, it took you 50 minutes of torture to figure that out. I wonder how long it would take for me to knock some sense into your Gryffindork-polluted mind that you are a goddamn SLYTHERIN!"<p>

Another kick to his already bruised tummy. Draco was crying. He knew he shouldn't cry, because Malfoys don't cry, what would his parents think of him if they saw him whining around like a weakling. Or worse… "what would Harry think…"

Blaise seemed to have figured out that Draco had a weak stomach and took advantage of that newfound knowledge to attack him profusely in that area, enjoying the sounds of pain escaping from his victim's lips. Draco felt terrible, his whole body was falling apart, he was horribly bruised in several areas and he could have sworn he coughed blood at least ten times now. But the beatings wouldn't stop, they just kept coming at him. Blaise was evil. Blaise was a Slytherin. Draco couldn't help but wonder whilst in agony, "If Blaise keeps saying Draco is Slytherin, was Draco THAT evil too…?"

Then again, numerous questions had flooded the little Malfoy's mind from the moment Blaise had made his presence known in the Gryffindor common room. All those things about what he was, who he was, how he changed…what did he mean by that? As far as Draco could remember, Draco had never even BEEN in Hogwarts, how could he have been a Slytherin? He only remembered being with his parents…and shot by shiny light…and being left at King's Cross Station…and…

"Harry…"

Blaise tugged harshly at Draco's hair, lifting his whole body up, "what did you say, you piece of crap? I don't believe that was my name you were calling." Draco furrowed his eyebrows and shot his captor a ghastly glare that sent a tingle of what seemed to be fear down Blaise's spine. Oh yes, he was angry now…"Draco asked for Harry. Bring Draco to HARRY. DRACO WANTS HARRY!"

The young Slytherin thwarted around violently until Blaise accidentally loosened his grip on him. Draco mustered up whatever energy that he had left in his weakened body to run towards Blaise's fallen wand that lay at the corner of the room during the torture frenzy. His legs had been twisted and it hurt Draco to walk, let alone run. But he had to get the wand and use it against Blaise. It was his only hope now.

Almost there…

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Almost there…

"Got it!" Draco exclaimed, and twirled around, pointing the wand at Blaise who had slowed to an abrupt halt in front of him. This was absurd! A grown boy backing away from a small fart…

"You don't even know how to use it, just drop it, Malfoy."  
>"No no, Harry taught Draco. In fact, Draco has learnt a lot from watching Harry take all sorts of lessons…" Draco stepped closer, and Blaise automatically stepped back a few inches. "Just swish and flick…isn't it?" Draco asked, with a small smirk forming on his lips. Blaise sensed the old Malfoy coming back to the little boy in front of him. That was what he wanted right? But…the old Malfoy would never spare anyone who went against him…and that was bad…<p>

"Say byebye, Blaise!" Draco said innocently as he opened his mouth to say a spell. That was when Crabbe and Goyle made their unexpected entrance by barging through the door. "We could have sworn we heard some- holy shit, what the hell happened, man?"

The two stood dumbfounded at the door, mouths gaping open. The whole room was a mess; bed annihilated, furniture overturned and broken, curtains fallen, and a terribly injured Malfoy pointing a wand at Blaise. Draco paused and switched his focus to the two visitors. Blaise couldn't stand the suspense any longer, "Crabbe! Or Goyle! One of you, disarm him! He's gone mad!"

Crabbe, being the slightly denser one, obeyed, and disarmed the stunned Draco. Blaise then took hold of the little Malfoy and slapped him hard across the cheek. Goyle jumped when he saw that. He didn't understand what was going on and why Malfoy deserved to get beaten up and treated so harshly like that.

"Hey, Zabini. Just curious, what the crap happened here?"  
>"Like I said, this little creep went berserk."<br>"Then, why's he the injured one. Not you?"  
>"Are you questioning me? You think I'd beat my friend up?"<br>"Well, that seems to be the case here, Zabini. Question is…why? Why would you do that? He's just a kid goddammit. If you've been holding in some long-term grudge with him, I'd say you take it out on him when he's back to his teenage form at least. Not when he's defenseless and vulnerable like that. You know what…"

Goyle rolled up his sleeves, with fists clenched, looking as though he was about to attack Blaise. But he didn't, he merely snatched Draco away from him. "Come on, Crabbe." Crabbe's slow mind was still trying to take in what he just saw, failing to make head nor tail out of it, "Uh…where are we going?"

"Yeah, GOYLE. Where do you think you're going with my punching bag?"  
>"I know you're a Slytherin, ZABINI. But so am I, and I would never do such retardedly cruel things to my fellow housemate."<br>"I was simply trying to Slytherinize him up, he was becoming such a pansy, hanging out with those Gryffindorks. Especially that Potter…"  
>"Hey. I never realized what a jerk you were before. Clearly he was happier there than when he was with us. So just let it go, Zabini. Why do you want to watch everyone have their happiness torn away from them anyway?"<p>

Blaise was speechless. He didn't know the answer to that question honestly. Even worse, he didn't know Goyle would be so...caring. Crabbe and Goyle then turned their backs on him and took Draco away with them. Goyle knew what he should do with him; return him to his rightful owner. As he and Crabbe walked out of Blaise's room, he felt a tug on his cloak. A very injured Draco was smiling weakly at him, eyes half closed due to the swells from the beatings, "thank you…Goy…"

Goyle couldn't help but smile back, "you're welcome, Malfoy." This little Malfoy was adorable…and in need of medical attention… Goyle quickened his pace as he and Crabbe left the Slytherin common room in search of his caretakers.

Author's note: HA! Bet you guys didn't expect the savior of the day to be Goyle huh? xD Don't worry, Draco will be returned to Harry soon. I find the last 2 chapters lacking the word "I"…Haha, Harry will return in the next chapter, I promise. Stay tuned~


	15. Chapter 15: For Your Own Good

Author's note: HEY, GUYS! Like I promised, this chapter shall contain no more Draco bashing, and our main character has returned :D Keep the reviews coming, guys! I'd really appreciate that, thanks. And just a random fact, now there's 62 reviews, and 62 happens to be one of my favorite numbers because it sounds catchy. Yay~ But I really hope to see the numbers go up faster anyway…LOL only you guys can make a difference! And now, here's chapter 15.

P.s. this is by far the LONGEST chapter i've ever written o.o WOOHOO! tell me i'm awesome, come on~

Acceptance  
>Chapter 15<br>For Your Own Good

Finally, I was through with classes for the day. I had been having terrible visions every now and then about something bad happening to Draco, but my friends kept convincing me otherwise. But whatever the case was, I was going to return to the common room immediately. "Harry, slow down!" Ron gasped between breaths, running towards me. I guess I had been walking too fast, but you can't blame someone for being anxious after having those voices and visions telling them to go back, right? Nevertheless, I stopped in my tracks so that my best friend could catch up. "Sorry, Ron. I'm just freaking worried, let's just head back to the common room now, okay?" I shot him a desperate look, in which he abided to. Just as we began to walk again, I caught sight of two idiots in the distance running in our direction. I strained my eyes to make out who the two persons were.

"Psh…Just Crabbe and Goyle practicing for some lameass marathon or something," Ron shrugged.  
>"No, Ron. Goyle's carrying something…no…someONE….oh god…you don't think that's…"<p>

"There you are, Potter!" Crabbe exclaimed, panting heavily. As they came closer into view, my face paled into complete whiteness. My worst fear had come true. Finally, the two Slytherins slowed to a stop, allowing me to take in the sight before me. In Goyle's arms lay Draco…my little Draco...He was in a horrendous state. His clothes were all torn and tattered, there were dried bloodstains around his mouth, his hair was a mess, and numerous cuts and bruises had ruined the initially flawless skin on his face. I didn't even dare to look at the damage done under his clothes. I was lost in a sea of mixed feelings; worry, panic, sadness, anger, confusion…and now I wanted to know…who the HELL did this to my baby Draco.

I stole a quick glance at Ron and found him almost as shocked as I was. In fact, he looked like he had been petrified. I stared long and hard at Goyle, who gulped when he recognized my I-want-answers glare. "Well, Potter...Just so you know…we weren't the ones who did this to Malfoy." "You know we wouldn't even think about it," Crabbe cut in. "THEN WHO THE HELL DID IT?" I bellowed. I was fuming. Why wasn't anyone giving me the answers I wanted? Why didn't I listen to my instinct before? Why wasn't I there in time to save Draco? Why did he have to go through so much pain and torture? It just wasn't fair! Why…why was I too late to prevent this…?

I didn't realize how much attention I had attracted. Now everyone in the hallway was staring, trying to figure out what happened. "Why…" my voice shook, my whole body shook. Tears had unconsciously rolled down, staining my face, and I was completely overwhelmed with depression. Draco didn't have to suffer like this… Why couldn't I be there for him like I promised countless times…Why…?

"Harry…don't cry…please…?"

My eyes widened upon hearing the small voice. It was the same innocent voice…His voice…The voice of the angel whose side I swore to never leave. I shivered as I slowly turned my head to face Draco. He was smiling at me. I guess it was his way of comforting me now since he was really in no state to do anything else. If Draco, bashed up till he was blue and black all over, was able to smile even under such circumstances, why shouldn't I do the same?

I gradually found a smile forming on my lips as well. I lifted my hand to stroke his swollen cheek, but to my astonishment, he had flinched a little and used his hands to cover his face in some sort of defending pose. Even Ron, Crabbe and Goyle were stunned by this.  
>"Dray…it's me. I'm Harry. I won't hurt you, come on, you trust me right?"<br>Draco peeked through his fingers and let his guard down at last. Goyle handed a visibly shaken Draco to me. I could still feel him trembling as I held him. The poor thing…

"Sorry we got there too late, Potter. We…Well…Anyway, take good care of Malfoy…Please," Goyle mumbled as he and Crabbe returned back to their common room. I watched as the silhouettes of the Slytherin pair faded out of sight, and turned to Ron helplessly. My best friend patted me on my shoulder and declared that we should take Draco to the infirmary without further hesitation. I nodded, but reluctantly. I knew that Malfoy had always hated hospitals and medicine stuff when he was a teenager, I doubt little Draco here would like it either.

"Ron, do you think…instead of the infirmary…could we bring him to Hermione?"  
>"Are you kidding me, mate? Hermione can't heal all of these in time. Draco needs attention NOW."<p>

I sighed and hugged Draco so that he would stop whimpering, "you're right…Let's go."

Then we sped off, once again, many eyes had followed us, still wondering what the hell happened. As we ran, I couldn't help but feel distraught. Draco had tried to back away from me. Why would he do that? It really hurt to see someone I cared for so deeply…want to stay away from me… But it was okay now, I guess. He let me hug him… So everything's fine now, he trusts me again…right?

Once we reached the infirmary, Ron alerted Madam Pomfrey of her new patient and she instantly rushed forward to claim Draco and began her duty. Draco screamed in protest and struggled as she laid him on the bed. "Draco wanna go home! HARRY!" He was out of control. Obviously the trauma he experienced with Blaise was enough to make him go crazy, but now medical attention with all those scary needles? Draco kicked with all his might in a failed attempt to free himself. Madam Pomfrey was looking rather crossed with her young and stubborn patient, "Mr. Potter, could you please calm him down or something?" I took a deep breath and began coaxing him.

"Draco, listen."  
>"Harry! Save Draco! Draco dun wana get hurt anymore! Dun wana hurt!"<br>"I'm sorry, Draco…You need medical attention and-"  
>"Draco dun wana get taken away for medi thing! Draco wanna go home!"<br>"Please, Dray, it's for your own good. Let the nurse take you-"  
>"WHY HARRY LEAVING DRACO TO GET TAKEN AWAY AGAIN? HARRY PROMISED NOT TO LEAVE DRACO! HARRY LIED! HARRY LIED!"<p>

I froze at his last statement. He's right…I guess I did lie…But he couldn't possibly expect me to really NEVER leave his side right? In times like these, what's a guy supposed to do? But what hurt most was how he shouted at me. Draco…He loved me, didn't he? And I loved the little bastard to death. Why was this happening? Oh god, if I had gone back to the common room earlier, none of this would have happened…Draco had the right to feel betrayed and angry. It was my fault… All my fault…

"NO! Don't poke, please! It hurts!"

I watched helplessly as the exasperated nurse began examining the injuries at Draco's tummy, which was his most sensitive area. The prodding was too much for him to handle in this state. He was in a lot of pain, I could tell. I just wished I could run to him, hug him, kiss him better, tell him it's okay, just like last time. Except this time, it wasn't just a simple stomachache, it was a series of severe injuries. No child deserved to go through this. Why him…? Given the choice, I'd rather be the one to suffer in his place.

"Harry! Please...!" Draco was begging for help again. He was crying so badly, time seemed to have slowed down as I watched him squirm and groan in pain. If I let him continue suffering like that, would he lose his trust in me?

I took a few steps forward but Ron held me back, "it's for his own good. Let him get over and done with it, he will recover after this, okay? You want him to get better don't you?" Emotions were running wild in my head again, my heart rate had been shooting up over the last few minutes, and with Draco in so much pain, begging me to help him…I could do nothing…once again…I had failed him.

"Mr. Potter, I would suggest that you and Mr. Weasley leave the infirmary immediately. We need absolute focus and attention with this boy," Madam Pomfrey called out above the screaming. A few other nurses rushed past us and surrounded Draco's bed, all frantically taking equipment out and doing god only knows what to my poor baby boy. I couldn't move, I simply stood there in shock and anxiety. Only until Ron started dragging me towards the door did I finally exit the infirmary.

I lumbered out and leaned against a nearby pillar, sobbing my eyes out. Ron stepped forward, "you okay, mate?" I shook my head, feeling worse than ever. I couldn't stop berating myself for letting this happen. Draco was my responsibility. I was to care for him, love him… But what did I do? I left him alone to get brutally tortured by some insane asshole whom I have yet to get my hands on, and when I had the chance to redeem myself and 'save' him from his fear of medicine and needles, I abandoned him again. Everything was going wrong.

"Harry…He'll be okay, you did the right thing."  
>"What if he never trusts me again after this? What if he hates me for not being there for him more than once?"<br>"He won't, he's not like that. At least, the Draco I've seen my best friend take care of over the past couple of months would NEVER be so unreasonable as to hate the one who loves him. I promise you, mate. He'll get out of that infirmary when he recovers, as good as new."  
>"Yeah but…what if he never comes out…?"<p>

Ron paused abruptly, obviously recalling how serious Draco's injuries were. Who knew whether a little kid would be able to live through all that? Furthermore, who knew if his weakened body would be able to take in all that medicine they were going to give him? I was panic stricken, and Ron was starting to worry as well. Damn…what's going to happen to him…


	16. Chapter 16: Thats not how the Story Goes

Author's note: Ugh, I'm kinda disappointed at the sad amount of reviews…but either way, I have managed to gather some sort of inspiration to come up with this chapter. THANK ME! And pleeeeeaaassse review guys, that would be very helpful on your part. I'm not sure when the next update might be though… I'll have to admit that my inspiration level is currently at its lowest so…if you wanna see the next chapter soon, please R&R. I've been getting loads of notifications of fav author fav story and all those again but just like last time, the amount of reviews are err….let's just say….discouraging…lol. SO DO YOUR PART AND I'LL DO MINE! LOVE YOU GUYS ANYWAY x] Enjoy.

Acceptance  
>Chapter 16<br>That's not how the Story Goes

I began pacing in front of the doors leading to the infirmary. I couldn't hear Draco's screams of pain anymore, but I wasn't sure if I could affirm whether it was a good sign or a bad one. Ron had fallen asleep on the floor, and it amazed me how anyone could even think about sleeping in a situation like this. Then again, maybe it was just me, haunted by my own guilt. Draco was injured because of me. I was really tempted to go off in pursuit of his attacker and rip his intestines out, but doing that would mean abandoning Draco again, and I wouldn't risk doing the same mistake. What if I left and Draco was looking for me? What if I came back and he had already breathed his last breath? I wasn't going to take any chances this time. I was going to wait patiently until the nurses let me in.

"Harry!" I heard Hermione's voice as she sprinted down the hallway towards me. "I heard what happened. Don't worry…Draco will be fine…"

I didn't know what came over me, but I suddenly broke down again in front of her, pouring out all my guilt and sorrow. After all the effort I took to hold my composure, I lost control once more. She hugged me and told me to calm down. Honestly, how could I calm down when the boy I loved was in some critical condition in that room? She didn't understand…

"Harry, I know you think we don't know what you're going through, but we're worried too. Ever since you took Draco in, Ron and I have gotten pretty attached to him as well…you know that?"  
>"I know…but…"<br>"You don't have to say a word. Just know this: Draco will be strong…for you, so don't cry, okay? Come on, Draco's gonna laugh at you if he sees you in this state."

Between tears, I managed to laugh a little at that last comment. Indeed, I could picture Draco walking out of the infirmary, raising an awkward eyebrow at the sight of me being a freaking crybaby and clinging on to a girl like a weakling. Then he'd burst into childish laughter, pointing at me, mocking me and singing to some kiddy tune "Harry is crying~ Harry is sissy~" or something along those lines…

But at the thought of how badly injured he was, the image of Draco in my mind was not a cheerful, adorable cutie, but a sad, injured victim of abuse. I frowned again. Hermione then let out a sigh in helplessness and sat on the floor beside her supposed boyfriend. I took one last look at the infirmary door before sitting down next to Ron as well. My eyelids were getting heavy, and I knew sleep would take me any time now. It's been a long and hard day full of unexpected drama, which was way too much for me to handle in just these few hours. Then again, my 'terrible' day obviously wouldn't hold a candle to Draco's. My poor Draco…I hope he's okay…

"Mr. Potter!"

My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I saw was Madam Pomfrey standing in front of me, arms akimbo. Damn, I must have fallen asleep. My friends weren't sitting by me anymore, in fact, they were nowhere in sight. The nurse ushered me into the infirmary, whispering in my ear, "he's awake now." I heaved a sigh of relief, or at least I thought it was relief. Draco was awake, after all those complicated medical treatment processes. That was good, right? But I was worried at the same time; what if he didn't want to see me?

Madam Pomfrey closed the door and left me alone in the large room with Draco. I made my way towards him, taking baby steps. Draco was sitting up, looking rather lifeless on the bed. I smiled subconsciously when I saw him, "Hey Dray…How you feeling?"

Draco blinked wearily. He simply looked weak, but when his little grey eyes focused on me, I sensed an indescribably bad tension being aroused between us. That was when he snapped… Draco furrowed his eyebrows, face twisted in an extremely infuriated way and he threw a nearby vase at me, which I dodged just in time. What the hell was he doing?

"HARRY LEFT DRACO! WHY HARRY DO THAT?" he screamed, tears falling at massive speed. "WHY? WHY? WHY? DRACO LOVED HARRY! BUT HARRY BETRAY DRACO! WHY HARRY LET DRACO GET HURT?"

I was in a state of panic, I hadn't expected this sudden outburst at all. "Draco, I'm sorry! Please…calm down…you'll open your wounds…I don't want to see you in any more pain!"

"NO! Harry…Harry hates Draco…Harry wants Draco to die…Harry doesn't love Draco…" his voice faltered as it trailed off. I felt as if my heart had been stabbed by Godric Gryffindor's sword. How could Draco say that? He should know very well how much I love him! But I did betray him…somewhat… Nevertheless, he should bear in mind that I was the one who took him in and cared for him…I could have decided to just leave him at King's Cross, but I didn't! Because I cared about him…Hell…I freaking love him…How could he say that I didn't…? It was tearing me apart.

"Y'Know what? Harry doesn't need to love Draco anymore…becuz…Draco HATE Harry! DRACO HATE HARRY! GO AWAY! LEAVE DRACO ALONE!"

This time, I was really lost for words. Draco…really didn't love me anymore…? He hated me…? But I…I loved him so much… Was leaving him twice really too much such that it made him despise me to the very core? I was still frozen in thought until Draco began hurling pillows at me, chasing me away, screaming and thrashing about violently. The bed sheets were thrown off as well, and I could see blood coming out from his mouth as he yelled. Tears began falling from my eyes. I wanted to be there for him, but there was no stopping his tantrum, especially given the reason why he was angry. He didn't want my presence. He was chasing me out of the infirmary…No…He was chasing me out of his life…

"GO AWAY HARRY! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

_It's over…It's all over…He hates me…He'll never come near me again…_

"HARRY!"  
>"Harry wake up, you damn git!"<p>

I was shaken awake. Ron and Hermione were squatting in front of me. I looked at my surroundings. I was still outside the infirmary, my friends were still here. Holy crap it was just a dream…Oh god…

"Harry, you were sweating and struggling in your sleep, we thought it best to wake you up," Ron shrugged. Hermione handed me a cloth to wipe my drenched forehead. I didn't want to tell them about the dream, at least not yet. I was still in shock. The dream was freaking realistic.

"Draco hasn't woken up yet, right?"  
>"No…No one even came out of the infirmary to tell us how he's doing."<br>"Hmm…okay…"

I guess I was going to stay awake for now…

With the company of my friends…

and pray that Draco would truly be alright…

and…

hopefully…

when he wakes up for real…

I wouldn't have to relive that horrible nightmare…


	17. Chapter 17: Stay With Me

Author's note: A big thank you to all my ~TOTALLYAWESOME~~! Reviewers :D Although I couldn't help but wonder why I'm getting lesser and lesser reviews… Is the story sucking? I apologize if it is. Either way, sorry for the wait, and also sorry for scaring you into thinking the dream in the previous chapter was real hehehe… Well, hope you guys enjoy chapter 17 and not realize that I somewhat slacked off when doing it! ^^;; R & R please, I'm hoping to get at least 10 reviews per chapter if you guys want guaranteed weekly updates next time~ Also, i've been making the effort to make chapters longer as some of you had requested. The least you guys could do is review, right? D: I knooooowwww more than 50 of u are reading this but soooooo few of u actually take the time to review. That's kinda sad for me... soooo yeah, u know what to do!

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 17<span>  
><span>Stay with me<span>

It was already past midnight and we were still waiting outside the infirmary. I could tell that my friends were getting tired out from the wait, but struggling to stay awake for my sake. Ugh, now I feel even worse.

"Hey, you guys can go to bed if you want. You don't have to wait, you know?"  
>"My sentiments exactly, oh god, I thought you'd NEVER ask… Let's go Hermione!"<br>"RON!"  
>"Okay, okay, sorry!"<p>

Well, now that THAT was pretty much dealt with, looks like the three of us would be spending a couple more hours here doing nothing. Just then, Madam Pomfrey stepped out, along with the other nurses, and told us that we could come in if we wanted to. I gulped, worrying whether I would experience a déjà vu the moment I entered. "Let's go," Hermione declared, taking Ron and I by the hand and marching into the infirmary.

We slowed to a stop when we found ourselves by the side of Draco's bed. He was fast asleep. I heaved a sigh of what seemed to be relief; I wouldn't have to worry about him chasing me out for now. But it's not like I didn't want him to wake up either. I wanted him to know that I was there for him, I wanted to be the first one he saw when he came to.

"Bloody hell…Those injuries don't look any better than before…" Ron shivered at the sight of the scars and bruises. Draco was wrapped in loads of bandages, I was wondering if his blood could even circulate with all those bandages tightly wrapped around him. I hesitated for a moment before placing the back of my hand on his face, stroking it gently. Good, he didn't flinch this time. Well DUH, of course he can't flinch, he's freaking ASLEEP… Well, can't blame a guy for worrying after such a nightmare, yeah?

"Madam Pomfrey, when is he going to wake up?" I asked, without taking my eyes off the sleeping Slytherin. She raised an eyebrow and replied, "you're not thinking he's in a coma, do you? Goodness, he's just resting after all that treatment. He should come to in a matter of hours. Not to worry, dear."

"But his injuries, they look terrible."  
>"We treated them as best as we could, it all takes time. We wasted a lot of medicine on this one little patient, it's by far the worst case I've seen this year. What on earth happened to the poor boy?"<br>"Abuse obviously…" I clenched my fist. "And I have yet to rip the culprit's heart out."  
>"You'll do no such thing!"<br>"You don't understand! Draco was obviously INNOCENTLY minding his own business and whoever attacked him has no right to get away with it that easily! I'm his guardian, and I'm going to get back at that goddamn bastard for doing this to him!"

Madam Pomfrey's eyes went wide for a moment before I heard her muttering 'language, Potter' and exited the room in a huff.

"That went well," Ron remarked.

I sighed and sat on the chair next to Draco's bed, gently holding his bandaged hand, fingers intertwining with his. Hermione nudged Ron and the two left the infirmary as well. "Thanks, guys," I smiled. Yup, they were my friends alright, they knew when I needed alone time. I leaned slightly on the bed and planted a kiss on Draco's forehead. I tried really hard to convince myself that he wasn't injured, but just sleeping soundly like all those other nights in my dormitory. I imagined him without those tubes and wires and bandages attached to him. It's just the same as before, I tell myself, the only difference is that we're in a different room on a different bed which probably won't fit the two of us if I scrambled on. Yes…That's what it was.

Suddenly recalling how Draco complained about the excruciating pain when his stomach was getting prodded, I slowly lifted his shirt to examine what sort of injuries lay below. I had expected to see a sea of injuries, but thankfully for my eyes, all I saw was a bunch of white bandages. Nevertheless, it must have hurt a lot and the injuries must have been terrible if there was a need to cover up his entire stomach like that. I stroked his stomach and wondered if he would have found it ticklish or something if he were awake now. That would be adorable… I haven't seen him smile or laugh for what seemed to be a hell long time.

"You better wake up soon, Dray," I said, still drawing circles on his bandaged tummy. "I promise to still be here when you wake up. And…I want to say sorry…for letting you get hurt like this. It was…all my fault…I didn't get there in time to save you. Wake up and tell me who did it, okay? I'll go find him and kick his ass for you. Nobody gets away with injuring my little Draco."

I laid my head on the bedside and waited. Just waited. Because that's all I intended to do until Draco woke up. I wanted him to know that he was my top priority and I would want nothing more than to be with him every second of my life…

A couple more hours had passed and it was morning, in about an hour, I'd have to leave for potions class. My body clock woke me up around that time and I glanced sleepily at Draco. He still hadn't woken up yet. I sighed, contemplating if I should just skip classes today or leave Draco alone until I was through with them. Just as I stood up from the position I had slept in all night, which by the way I was getting stiff-necked from, I felt my hand being pulled.

"Morning, Harry," said the soft voice coming from the little patient. My eyes grew wide and I beamed, suddenly I wasn't tired anymore, but I was also freaking worried at the same time.

"Draco! Oh god, are you okay? Are you in pain? I'm so sorry I let this happen to you! If I had never left you in the first place-"  
>"Hush, Harry! Harry so noisy…Draco okay…Draco just tired…"<br>"I'm sorry, baby... But…you know it was my fault you ended up like this…and I'm terribly sorry…"

Even when his eyes were half closed, I could sense that twinkle of curiosity in them. "Why Harry sorry? Draco is…completely fine now!" He forced a smile. Then he paused and tried to sit up, but was rewarded with a sharp pain in his abdomen and he fell back on the bed, wincing slightly. It pained me to see him still in such agony. Without any hesitation, I wrapped my arms around the injured little Slytherin and gave him a hug, gently of course. Draco stopped faking his emotions and suddenly burst out crying.

"Harry! Draco heard everything Harry said when he was asleep, it's okay! Draco will never blame Harry, Draco love Harry! Draco just hopes that Harry love Draco and never…leave Draco anymore…"

As he said this, I could feel him shaking and somewhat vibrating from the crying and hiccupping. I stroked his back and tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry, Dray…I promise not to leave you. Heck, I love you too much, I can't risk anything like this happening to my baby again."  
>"Thank you…Harry…nnngghhhh"<br>"What's that?"  
>"Tummy hurt…"<p>

I cradled Draco in my arms and did my routine of rubbing his tummy, I knew he liked it. He used to purr whenever I did that. Now, Draco was leaning closer to me and his bandaged arms were holding on to my free hand. Then came the purring… He was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Never had I thought that the Malfoy I knew was so adorable as a kid. Then again, I had always found him secretly hot and err…sex-appealing…but I just blamed it on hormones. CRAP what am I thinking…He's just a child…no dirty thoughts…

Aside from that, this scene really reminded me of the first time I smuggled him into Hogwarts and Ron and I overfed him. Ugh, I've even hurt him back THEN… I wonder how long he'd actually survive in my hands…

"Ha-mfff-r-mmm-yy!"  
>"Ah, sorry, Draco!"<p>

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize my hand had moved up to begin rubbing circles on Draco's face. He shivered slightly as I positioned my hand back on his tummy. "Does it still hurt really bad?" I asked in concern. Draco gave a weak smile and nodded. Ah, freaking Malfoys and their ability to hide their emotions like that. How could he still smile when he was in pain.

"I'll go get the nurse."  
>"No, Harry! Stay with Draco! Please?"<br>"But you're hurt…"  
>"Draco will be okay as long as Harry with him..." Draco's voice began to falter. I stole a glance at the door and decided against leaving. Hell yeah, I was going to stay here with my poor Draco until he felt better. Furthermore, his last statement had moved me. I smiled and gently lay him back on the bed, pulling the bed sheets on top of him. His eyes were squeezed shut for a moment. Instincts told me to stroke his little tummy again, so I did, and he immediately relaxed. Wow, I guess I SHOULD always trust my instincts. Well, what mattered the most now was Draco, and I couldn't wait for him to recover. Maybe then I'd reward him with ice-cream or something for putting up with living in the dreaded infirmary.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18: Of Guilt and Apologies

Author's Note: Guess what, guys? I'm in a good mood today, so here's another chapter that arrived earlier than it should have. Like I said before, pleeeaaaseee read and review. Reviews make me happy D: and I'm dying from lack of them… save me! Save the story! R&R! Thanks~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 18<span>  
><span>Of Guilt and Apologies<span>

Draco sat in an upright position looking around the infirmary. Yup, it was still empty except for him. He struggled to bend forward to pull up the covers, but felt the familiar painful sensation running through his chest and stomach and retreated. The pain was still there even after two weeks. Just then, the doors opened and Neville Longbottom tiptoed in, thinking Draco was asleep. "Neville! Hello!" Draco beamed. The Gryffindor looked shocked for a moment, then approached the bedside and greeted the little patient.

"How are you doing, little man?"  
>"Still not completely okay…"<br>"Really?"  
>"Yeah, every day Harry comes to visit Draco and asks same question: do you feel better? But Draco always says not really. Harry always looks so sad after that. Draco dun wan Harry to be sad…"<p>

Neville frowned as he watched the young Slytherin's head droop to his shoulders. He felt guilty for not being able to stop Blaise, and for being such a pathetic wimp. He wasn't even capable of doing one simple task of protecting his good friend's little treasure.

"Listen, Draco. Don't be sad, okay? Harry would wanna see you get better, and if you're happier, you might recover faster. Also…I rushed over here to check if you were okay…Um, I'm supposed to be in my next class now but I still feel like I have to make up for not taking care of you that day. I just want to say… I'm sorry," Neville stammered. Draco hadn't expected that, but he smiled again, "Draco forgive Neville. But Draco dun wana make Neville late for class, Neville can go now. It's okay, Draco will be safe here. It's infirmary! Infirmary is always safe becuz no one stupid enuff to go to some place where you will get poke poke by needles…" His voice turned into a pout, making Neville laugh. "Sure, whatever you say, I'll be off then, see ya," Neville patted Draco on the head and left.

Draco slumped back into his pillow. He wanted to be discharged so he could spend more time with the Gryffindors, and one particular caretaker of his, of course. But he wasn't exactly ready to step out of those doors either. He didn't want to meet the horrible Slytherin again. Draco shivered at the thought of getting bashed up again and decided it was safer to stay put until someone came for him. "Harry will be here during lunch time in about two hours…" he thought to himself.

Crreeaakkk

Draco peeped at the infirmary doors which were slowly being pushed open, little by little, such that one couldn't really notice it moving without the creaky noise. A shadow was cast upon the cold grey tiles. A familiar shadow. Draco's blood ran icy cold and he backed away further into the pillows and almost entirely covered himself with the blankets. Footsteps were heard and gradually, the familiar face of Blaise Zabini appeared. Draco's facial expression was contorted into a mixture of fear and hatred. This was the guy who attacked him! Was he going to attack him again?

"No…Not you…NOT YOU!" Draco's voice echoed loudly around the walls of the infirmary. He was getting terrified as the older Slytherin moved nearer. But Blaise didn't have the same sadistic look on his face like before, in fact it was more like…was it shamefulness?

"Malfoy."  
>"GO AWAY!" Draco screamed, pushing Blaise away as he approached, assuming he would start punching and kicking at him once more. "What did Draco ever do to you! Leave Draco alone, please!"<p>

Blaise looked slightly hurt as he obliged, moving about a meter away from the hysterical patient. He wondered if his attack had made Draco go mentally unstable. "Malfoy, listen. I'm sorry about that, okay? I got carried away."

"CARRIED. AWAY."

The two turned to face the door. I stepped in, upon hearing their little conversation when I was outside. Oh yeah, I was angry alright. Finally, I had found the culprit.

"I should have known it was you, you sadistic bitch."  
>"Potter, I didn't come here to stir anymore trouble."<br>"Oh, that's hard to believe since you're cornering Draco like you probably did the last time you attacked him. Guess what, there's not gonna be a second time you'll get the chance to continue your assault, because I'm-"  
>"I just came to say sorry to him! Can't you just let him forgive me?"<br>"He has no reason to forgive you, and neither do I. You brought this upon yourself, Zabini. You should have seen it coming…the day you decided to lay your hands on my Draco like that."  
>"SHUT UP!"<p>

Blaise was panting, sweat running down his forehead, and I swore I saw a vein pulsating. What reason did this bastard have to get pissed off, hell, I WAS PISSED OFF. But being the understanding fool that I was, I let him speak, if he wanted to that is. After that, he could bloody well kiss his ass goodbye.

"You know I never really intended to attack him, Potter."  
>"Sure you didn't."<br>"…I only did it because…I hated the sight of seeing him around you freaking Gryffindorks…especially you. I kept asking myself; how the hell did the cold hearted Slytherin ice prince turn into such a pansy? I would assume that even as a child, Malfoy would be an evil little shit, but wha- this- it's just a terribly bigass letdown! DRACO MALFOY-"  
>"Yes…?"<br>"-I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU!"  
>"Okay…"<br>"-IS GETTING ALL LOVEY DOVEY AROUND THE ENEMY HOUSE. THE HOUSE HE SWORE HE'D HATE FOREVER. HE TOLD ME HE DESPISED ALL GRYFFINDORS, HE TOLD ME WE'D TAKE YOU GUYS ALL DOWN SOMEDAY, HE TOLD ME THAT YOU, POTTER, WERE THE WORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HOGWARTS. AND NOW LOOK AT THIS? HE'S GOTTEN HIMSELF DE-AGED AND BECAME CLINGY TO THE BOY HE LOATHED SINCE DAY ONE."

Blaise brought his hands to his head and looked as if he was going to pull every strand of his hair out. I was dying to see him make himself go bald, honestly. That would be entertaining, even for little Draco. Then he started laughing…but it obviously wasn't happy laughter…He sounded like he had lost his mind. I didn't get it. So he and Draco were close and they hated Gryffindor together, so what? He had no reason to beat him up for changing for the better.

"Heh…Potter…Hahaha…Tell me your secret…"  
>"What the crap you talking about, Zabini?"<br>"How…How did you manage to win his heart?"

The tension dropped for a moment. Draco looked at me worriedly, he seemed confused as to what we were talking about. It just didn't make sense. Even I was starting to get a bit lost here.

"Um…win his heart? I'd say…any other way you'd win a random kid's heart, I don't know. Show him care, kindness, patience, understanding…love…"  
>"You don't understand…nobody does…I did everything I could for him, everything I did, I did for him."<br>"So you attacked him for his own good, cuz that's what I'm understanding from your last statement."

Blaise clenched his fist and looked like he was about to explode. I knew I had the tendency to piss teachers like Snape off with every little thing I say, but I didn't understand why Zabini was getting so worked up. He was the one at fault here.

"I told you before, I didn't mean to hurt him! I just wanted him back on the Slytherin side! I wanted him back on MY side! I wanted him to be with me, by my side…day and night…I wanted Malfoy to be MINE and MINE ALONE! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO INTERFERE, POTTER? WHY?"

I froze, lost for words. Did Zabini…have a crush on Draco? If that was the case, maybe that was why he got all possessive…jealous… I think I understood that feeling…somewhat…

"Listen, Zabini. I know what it's like to lose someone you like, or love rather. I lost my parents to Voldemort."  
>Blaise raised an eyebrow and looked shocked. I rephrased my statement after realizing what else it could have sounded like.<br>"I meant…Voldemort killed my parents. Not that he…err… interfered… in THAT way…if you know what I mean…Anyway, from what I gather, you've been having a crush on my Draco-"  
>"STOP calling him yours. He's not yours."<br>"Stop being so possessive, damn you!" I was fuming now. I have no idea what came over me, to think I was about to have a 'reasonable conversation' with the guy who attacked Draco. Sure, I was Harry Potter, one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. But if anyone harmed a single hair on Draco Malfoy's head, I would rip him apart. Blaise was going to get it now…

I flipped my wand out from my pocket and shouted a spell, but Blaise had dodged it in time and got his own wand out. I was shouting all sorts of random spells, even forbidden curses. I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed that Blaise didn't get hit by any of them. Bright lights of crimson, green and other colors of blazing sparks were constantly being shot out from the tip of my wand, not Blaise's. Was I so professional that he didn't even have a chance to retaliate with a counter curse? Or was he just not willing to fight back…?


	19. Chapter 19: Deeper Than That

Author's note: check it out, i'm actually succeeding in making chapters longer than before! XD seriously though, the reviews needa keep comin, what happened to my loyal reviewers? As far as i remember, when i first started on this story i had abt 8 reviews per chapter on average D: come onnnnnn, i need a little more support please? Or I'll make Draco DIE! jkjk...i don't have the heart to do that...either way, hope u enjoy this chapter and PLEASE, for the love of god, REVIEWWWWWW!

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 19<span>  
><span>Deeper than that<span>

Draco watched in fear as we fought. However, I barely paid any attention to that, my focus was on Zabini, the boy who hurt my baby Draco. I wanted him dead. NOW…

"Avada Kedavra!" was the only curse that escaped my lips for the past few seconds. I just wanted him to die. He didn't deserve to live. He was heartless to harm a child like that, even if it was out of possessiveness and some form of deep love which I failed to comprehend. But I was getting pissed off for not being able to hit him with my killing curse. With that, I abandoned my wand and lunged forward, aiming a fist at the Slytherin's face.

"GO TO HELL!" I bellowed, throwing multiple punches at the boy beneath me now. He made useless attempts to block himself from my blows. I was disgusted.

"You have the nerve to hide from rightful punishment, eh, Zabini?"  
>"Potter –ugh- I just wanted –ahh- to say sorry!"<br>"I don't want your apology! I want your LIFE!"

"Harry…stop…please…" Draco's timid voice was drowned out by my angry threats and Blaise's cries of protest. Draco was terrified at what he saw, without a doubt. "Stop…! Harry…it's scary!"

Blaise tried to point out what Draco was saying but I had my eyes fixed on him the whole time, beating the crap out of him. This guy was not going to live after I finish with him. It's high time these bastards realize not to mess with Harry Potter and those dear to him. I show no mercy to those who fail to oblige.

Just then, I heard a fairly loud thump. Sounds like someone had his head hit or something…Oh wait…Crap, it's MY head. I turned around to see Hermione furiously glaring at me, a scrunched up cardboard piece in her hand. I rubbed the back of my head and stared at her in confusion.

"Harry Potter, have you lost your marbles?"  
>"Um no, I don't think so? I keep them in a box down by the-"<br>"YOU DUMBASS! Why are you behaving like this?"  
>"Hermione, you don't understand! This asshole, Blaise Zabini, is the one who attacked Draco. You can't expect me to just sit here and watch him do it again."<br>"Oh, so you do realize that this is about Draco?"  
>"Duh, I always did."<br>"Then would I be wrong to say that you completely neglected him as he cowered in fear watching the boy he regarded as his loving caretaker behave so violently in front of him? Heck, were you even aware that he was present in this room? Or did you forget his existence? Seriously, Harry. Stop being so...idiotic"

I blinked and then it hit me. Oh god, I really did forget that Draco was in the room. He was there…the whole time… Shit, his impression of me must be ruined by now…

"Draco…" I stood up, completely ignoring Hermione and heading towards the bed. Draco looked totally scared, his little face was paling even more than before. "I'm sorry…for acting like that…Sorry for scaring you…but you know…I did that for you…"

Draco looked away for a moment before mumbling something. "What's that?" I asked. It was then that Draco said something that made me realize what an idiot I was.

"Draco heard everything…since the time Harry entered infirmary. Harry said Blaise attacked Draco for his own good. Now Harry saying…he scare Draco for his own good too…? Everything supposed to be good for Draco? Cuz…Draco dun feel dat way…"

Even though his statement wasn't making much sense, I realized, as much as I hated to admit it, that I was behaving like Blaise. Sure, we both wanted Draco to be ours. But little did we know that it would be at Draco's own expense. Our actions of possessiveness had hurt him, frightened him, maybe even disgusted him…

It seemed as if my blood had stop circulating and my heart had stopped pumping for a moment. I didn't mean to affect Draco so negatively, and of course I didn't mean to make him scared…Crap, I'm sounding like Blaise…I guess I really was behaving like a dick…

"Ah…Dray…I don't know how to tell you this. I know it's my fault okay? But really, I love you…so much…I didn't want him to hurt you anymore…"

I expected Draco to shun me off and never speak to me again, at least that's what teenage Draco Malfoy would have done, or so I thought. But once again, the innocent, little voice surprised me.

"Draco understand…Draco love you too Harry, but please dun…dun be so…rrr rrrr! Anymore okay?"  
>"Heh…You mean violent?"<br>"Yeah…"  
>"Of course… Anything for you, baby."<p>

The room fell silent for a brief moment. Hermione smiled, seeing how I realized my mistake, and Draco was willing to forgive me. Blaise struggled to sit back up, blood oozing out from his mouth. His mind was filled with a sea of confusion. _Malfoy liked Potter…Potter cared for Malfoy…how did this all happen…He's changed…_

Draco held his arms up to me, asking for a make-up hug, which I delightfully gave him. He was my precious treasure, and I promised never to do anything rash that would cause him harm ever again. From the way he welcomed me to hold and hug him again, I knew that I was forgiven. That was indeed a blessing.

Blaise shut his eyes, face turning away from the sight that lay before him. He didn't like what he saw…well…most of it at least…With that, he slowly got up and came to a conclusion.

"Hey, Potter."  
>"Yeah, what?"<br>"I give up. You win."

"Win?" I raised an eyebrow. This was the first time I had ever seen a Slytherin back away from a challenge like that. "I thought you were desperate for him, now you're just giving up?"

"Don't act like you don't want me to give up, Gryffindork. Honestly, I loathe the fact that Malfoy has grown so attached to you. But…I love him anyway, and I always will. And I think you should know this by now; if you love someone, you want the person to be happy."

I looked from the speaker, to Draco, then to Hermione, wondering if they knew what was going to happen next.

"Malfoy was never truly happy with me. I could tell from the way he acted. This is actually…the first time…I've ever seen this different side of him. The little boy who just wanted to be loved by a special someone, and now that he's found that someone, he's a much happier person. I hate to admit it, but you, Potter, have already filled that empty spot in his heart. You changed him…but I guess it's for the better. I just want to say sorry again for what I did, I was being a jerk."

I had no clue how to respond to Blaise's speech, but I felt relieved that he had finally come to his senses. It was Draco who then broke the awkward silence.

"It's okay, Blaise!"

Blaise paused as he saw the cheerful face of the three year old Draco Malfoy smiling at him. _He forgave me…? But why…?_

"Malfoy…why?"

Draco tilted his head, slowly processing his thoughts. That seemed like a stupid question to him. "Why? Why wouldn't Draco forgive Blaise? Everyone deserve second chance!" Again, the adorable smile came. I could have sworn I saw Blaise blush…

"You…you really changed…You would never have forgiven me if you were your teenage self," Blaise mumbled as he inched his way toward us. I silently reminded myself that teenage Malfoy wouldn't have forgiven me either… Once again, Draco displayed a confused facial expression. He never understood when people kept saying stuff about his 'teenage self'. Hell he wasn't even HALFWAY there to becoming a teenager. I looked on, watching Blaise's every move in case he tried anything funny. Hermione simply pulled me aside so that the two Slytherins could meet without any other obstruction.

"Malfoy, you…you're the best thing that's ever happened to Hogwarts, yanoe that?"  
>"Nah…Draco not that important."<br>"Well, to me, you are."  
>"Thank…you?" Draco looked at me questioningly as I shrugged my shoulders, hinting to him that I had no idea where this conversation was going either.<br>"So, what do you think is the worst thing that's ever happened to Hogwarts?"  
>"Hmm…bullies…"<br>"Haha…that wasn't your answer last time."  
>"Okay…?"<br>"What about the best thing that's ever happened to Hogwarts?"  
>"That's an easy one. Harry, of course!" Draco beamed as he cheerfully clapped his hands and pointed at me. I grinned and waved back. Blaise's face fell upon hearing Draco's answer. <em>Heh…I guess you really have changed, Malfoy…I made a wise decision giving up on you…<em>

"Well," Blaise said clasping his hands together. "It's been a nice chat we had here, I'm glad you forgave me, Malfoy. If you guys don't mind, I'm just gonna…head back to class." I analyzed the Slytherin as he swiftly turned and left. He was disappointed, I could affirm, not to mention heartbroken. The kind side of me was attacking me with tinges of guilt for robbing him of the boy he loved, but it wasn't really my fault, right?

"Zabini looked as if he was about to cry or something," Hermione commented. She then turned to Draco and patted him on the head. The three year old was still confused and trying to piece images together in his mind to figure out what the hell just happened. I picked him up gently and cradled him in my arms as he snuggled closer, finally relaxed.

"Hey, Harry. I'm gonna go back to class. I lied that I was going to the bathroom when instead I came to check on you guys, so now I bet they all think I'm constipating on a potty or something. If I hear rumors of such, I'll have your head, Harry. Catch ya later!" With that, the bushy haired teen skipped out of the infirmary. "Doesn't Harry have class too?" Draco piped out. Actually I did, but unlike Hermione, whom I had ALWAYS ASSUMED was the goodie two shoes in our clique, I actually told the professor the truth that I wanted to visit the injured boy. Wow, that's a start…

"Nothing beats spending time with you, Dray," I beamed, running my fingers down his neck, tickling him in the process. He giggled but suddenly felt another pang of pain in his gut and groaned. I guess he was a slow healer. It's been so long since he came back with me to the Gryffindor common room, and all the other Gryffindors would ask me on a daily basis when he was getting discharged. Honestly, I had no clue. Draco certainly looked almost fully recovered on the outside, but he kept complaining about chest and stomach pains, so even I had no clue when he would be thoroughly healed. Madam Pomfrey had warned me about possible blood clots in his abdomen, but none had been discovered so far. I didn't want to scare Draco with the information I got, so I simply took it all in and stressed myself out every day worrying about his condition. In fact, I was getting really worn out with all this guilt and worry.

"Harry, Draco really meant what he said just now," Draco said softly, hands clasped over his aching tummy. I lay him back down on the bed and placed my hand over his, "about what?"

"About…Harry being the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts. Because it's true!"  
>"Really? Haha, what did I do to be given such a high and honorable status?"<br>"Harry took care of Draco. Harry love Draco. And that's enough to become the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts. To Draco at least…"

Ahh…this boy knew how to flatter a dude. No wonder he attracted so many girls in the past, as well as a handful of gays…myself included of course. Yeah, last time I was never on good terms with him but I had always paid abnormally close attention to him from afar. I should have known I was bound to fall for the badass Slytherin sooner or later. And waddya know? I really am in love with Draco Malfoy; the three year old one at least. But I guess it was that sort of parent-kid kind of love, not the boy on boy love. Nevertheless, I smiled, planting a kiss on Draco's cheek. Whatever happens, I'd love him now…with all my heart.


	20. Chapter 20: Time of Our Lives

Author's note: Yay it's another chappy! But I'm kinda lost now, cuz I could take 2 alternate paths to go down for this story. One choice would result in a much quicker ending (as in pretty soon) and the other choice would lengthen the story by quite a bit. I'm just wondering what you guys would prefer? Want me to get over with this story and start a new one? Or continue putting effort into this one for a longer time? I'll listen to your opinions soooo R&R and tell me what you think! ^^

Acceptance  
>Chapter 20<br>Time of our Lives

Time went by quicker than expected after the Blaise incident and Draco had fully recovered after two more weeks. At last, I could bring my baby home again. Draco was happily scampering and jumping around me as we headed to the common room on the day he was discharged. I was glad to finally see him being so energetic. It was torture to watch him curled up in agony on the infirmary bed for that long, horrid month. However, I was still concerned for Draco. Madam Pomfrey told me in private that although he no longer felt any pain in any part of his body, Draco's stomach had been greatly weakened by the severe blows to it. The slightest thing could trigger immense pain, be it overeating, under eating, food poisoning, or even a light hit or some sort of pressure upon it. It was going to torture him terribly, much more than any stomachaches he had before. The average person might be able to bear the pain, but not little Draco. Upon hearing this unsatisfying information, I vowed to keep a closer watch on the young Slytherin and protect him from any form of pain or harm.

"Harry! Harry! Open door! Open door!" Draco exclaimed, hyperness overwhelming him. I laughed as he desperately tried to push the huge door open but to no avail, the only thing moving was his feet, making him look as if he was moonwalking on the spot. I obediently turned the knob and opened the door. Immediately, Draco bounded in and made his grand entrance, shouting and waving his little arms frantically, "GRIFFDORS! DRACO HOME!" I watched in amusement as all my fellow housemates glanced toward the door and stopped whatever they were doing. Then suddenly they all burst out in cheer and 'ambushed' the little Slytherin with welcoming hugs and all. Elated at how much they missed him, Draco made the effort to hug every Gryffindor he saw. This undoubtedly took a while…

"Yo, Draco! Looks like you finally got yourself outta that nasty ol' infirmary," Dean grinned, ruffling the blonde's blond hair (pun intended! XD) Draco nodded his head at least five times before jumping up to hug him. Man, he really was hyper and happy to escape his one month confinement. The Gryffindor girls had swarmed towards him again and resumed all the hugging and kissing. Honestly, I was quite shocked to see how Draco took delight with all this attention and mushy stuff. At the back of my mind, I was imagining teenage Draco pushing all the girls off him in a situation like this. Because it wasn't just girls, it was GRYFFINDOR girls. Hell, if a Slytherin girl got a punch for hugging him like that, a Gryffindor girl would get a one way ticket to hell. I thanked my lucky stars that it was three year old Draco we were handling here.

"Hey, Harry!" Hermione waved, walking towards me. I smiled and raised my hand in acknowledgement, then returned my focus to the crowd in front. I had to make sure I could still see the little blond head among the sea of girls. "You thinking of something?" Hermione asked. "Nope, just glad to see Draco is being very welcomed here in the Gryffindor common room," I lied. I was in truth, thinking of something else as well…

"Well of course he's welcome here! Everyone loves him! It's like they've all been brainwashed and forgotten that this was supposed to be Malfoy the Slytherin bully," Hermione giggled, then continued, "so he's fully recovered now, right?"

"Um…" I pondered if I should tell her the truth, but as usual, her death glare had scared me enough to come clean with her eventually. She frowned a little, but assured me that she'd help me keep a lookout for Draco and keep him safe as well. Then she began berating me again, in a friendlier way of course, just because she was Hermione Granger the responsible one, and I was Harry Potter, the retarded one.

"I don't understand why you even have to think whether you should tell us. We're your friends, Harry. Anything happens, you tell us, okay? Come on, what are friends for?"  
>"You're right, Hermione. I'm sorry."<br>"You should be. Anyway, let's go wake Ron up. He turned in super early today and he's the only one who doesn't know Draco's back. Honestly, I really admire his ability to stay asleep despite the ruckus we're making out here."  
>"I'd have to agree with you there."<p>

With that, I squeezed through the crowd and picked Draco up. He was still hyper and giggling so much that I could feel him vibrating in my hands. Hehe…that's weird…he's vibrating…

"Aw, why're you taking him away?"  
>"I'm sure Ron would like to get some of him too, ladies. The fat douche's still asleep! Don't worry, you'll get to play with Draco later!"<p>

Draco settled down slightly but a wide smile was still fixed on his face. "Harry, Draco is soooo happy!" He beamed. I pinched his cheek and began teasing him, "are you? So you like hanging out with the chicks already? You abandoning me for them, eh? You little poof!"

Draco started rolling around in my arms and kicking at me, telling me to shut up as he laughed at how my face was forced into a fake envious expression. I found myself laughing along. I was filled with such joy with this little guy around. I was thankful upon realizing how lucky I was to be the one to care for him. Every morning, I get to see his bright, cheery face, he'll say "good morning" in that adorable voice of his, then I'll always have him by my side at every class, he even pokes me when I'm not paying attention, which is actually quite cute. When I'm down, he tries his best to cheer me up and it usually works because he's just too adorably irresistible. I love him, and now he loves me too. We'd always me there for each other now. Basically, everywhere I go, I'll see him. Even if I have to go some other place, I'll always return to my dormitory, and he'll be waiting, waiting for me, telling me…"welcome home, Harry" …Draco; he makes Hogwarts even more like home to me than before.

We entered our room and found Ron just getting up. "Ron, how could you be asleep when we're partying outside?" I hurled a tissue box at him. –what? It was the nearest object around!

Ron grunted in response, "Well how could you be partying outside when I'm sleeping…"

"FWUCK YOU, RON!"

Ron's eyes widened in shock, recognizing the innocent swear immediately, while MY eyes widened in shock due to the sudden swear that I had long forgotten Draco had picked up from my bastard of a best friend.

"Draco Malfoy, you chubby little fuck, you didn't tell me you were discharged!"  
>"Whatever, fwuckin Ron! Draco home now! Hug meeee~!"<p>

Ron hugged Draco and started tickling him, making the little Slytherin giggle again. Damn, if those two weren't swearing, I would have liked to call Draco's return to the Gryffindor common room a pure, nice family reunion. Oh heck, it already was awesome enough.

"C'mon you fools, let's join the others outside," I grinned, ushering them out. Almost instantly, the Gryffindors came flooding towards their new celebrity again and I knew the fun would last for at least a couple more hours, ultimately leaving us all tired out and ready to fall asleep in class the next day. Isn't that just totally awesome? I was confident everyone didn't really care either; they wanted to hang out with their favorite little Slytherin while they could. Besides…for all we know, Snape's ageing potion could just be ready tomorrow. And all this fun would stop. Everything would just be a mere memory. Worst of all, Draco himself would probably remember none of it.

"Harry!"

I snapped out of my trance, realizing I was spacing out alone at the door. Draco was waving at me, being carried by Seamus. "Harry come play too!" he repeated, giggling as he waved frantically. The rest of the Gryffindors seemed to have taken his side and began echoing "yeah Harry you douche!" and "yeah come here, you ass!"

I smirked, shaking my head, "trying to suck up to Draco eh?"

I approached the boy carrying Draco with a sneaky grin creeping upon my face. Seamus laughed nervously when he saw my wand appearing behind my back, "whoooaaaa Harry, watcha gonna do?"

"Yesh Harry, whatcha doing?" Draco asked.  
>"You'll see. Tell me, Dray, what kind of flower do you like?"<br>"Um, Draco dunno. Rose?"

I nodded and aimed my wand at Seamus, everyone went "OHHHH~" in unison as I shouted some random spell, "ROSICAN POOFICUS!"

Nothing happened. Seamus looked around and felt all over his body until he was sure he was still normal-looking, then found the confidence to point at me and go, "HA! Some amazing spell, Harry!"

Just as suddenly as he spoke, Draco began clapping as he exclaimed, "ROSE!" Soon, Seamus' head had begun sprouting roses and his hair turned into leaves. "ROSE BUSH!" Ron mocked, laughing hysterically. The whole Gryffindor house began roaring with laughter as they began prancing around trying to pluck the roses from Seamus' head. "Stop it!" he cried. "I don't wanna go bald when I go back to normal!"

"Who said anything about going back to normal?" I sniggered.  
>"HARRY POTTER YOU CHANGE MY HAIR BACK RIGHT NOW –AH! WHO PLUCKED MY ROSE!"<br>"Draco got flower! Harry for you! For you!"

Everyone couldn't stop laughing and mocking Seamus for the whole night. This was probably the best night us Gryffindors had ever had, and credit goes to Draco, of course. Damn, now I really don't want him to go back to normal.

If only time could stop…

for him…

for me…

and for all of us...


	21. Chapter 21: He Doesn't Have to Know

Author's note: Hey guys! Glad to see more of you favoriting and following this story XD Special thanks to a particular reviewer who reviewed on EVERY single chapter, really thankyou soooo much Makurayami Ookami! And thank you to all of you who reviewed as well :D I still hope to see more reviews though~ No kidding, it actually does work some magic to motivate me when I write 0_0 oh yeah I noticed my story lacking in funny scenes for quite a while, just wondering, do you guys want to see more 'funny' or 'serious' in this story? I'll take your opinions into account as usual :D Well, enjoy this chapter~ R&R! And by the way, some of you had mentioned stuff about Draco going back to his normal age, trust me, he will pretty soon ^^

Acceptance  
>Chapter 21<br>He Doesn't Have to Know

"Harry! Wrong potion!" Draco cried as he shoved my hand away from a gooey black solution. Damn, I had always hated potions class, I never get anything right! Fortunately, this whole year, Draco had been helping me and guiding me through steps that I was amazed he could understand, thus preventing a series of explosions and disasters potentially caused by my retarded potions. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. After all, Draco had always been a pro at this class. Since Draco was de-aged, Snape would always pair me up with him for pairwork. I guess he didn't trust anyone else to work with his favorite little student when he was in this condition. Then again, maybe he did it to break the yearly tradition of me creating dangerous potions which landed people in the infirmary. I have to admit, his plan worked. I haven't harmed or disfigured anyone yet, and Snape had actually rewarded 10 points to Gryffindor for that. Amazing.

"Thanks Dray, you're like my own personal little professor," I grinned, patting his head. Draco smiled as he waved his arms around happily, then abruptly changed his expression to a serious one, which still looked adorable somehow, and began pointing out random steps in the textbook to me. I was actually doing better in this class this year, thanks to him. Then the familiar thought struck me again; when he returns back to his normal age, I won't have his guidance anymore. Wait no…not just guidance, I won't even have his company either. Damn it all! I've been having these thoughts for the past few days already. Every single time I look at him or hear his voice, I'm reminded of the truth that one day he WILL have to go back to normal. He couldn't possibly stay a child for me…

"Harry!"  
>"Huh?"<p>

Before I could react, Draco had snatched a bottle away from my hand. I looked down into the flask in my other hand and realized that a bubbling red solution had almost overflowed out of its container. Whoa, that was a close one. Immediately my attention went back to Draco. He was covered in the other potion that I was initially holding.

"I'm so sorry, Dray! Are you okay?"

The little Slytherin coughed a little before nodding with a small smile on his face. I have got to stop spacing out in random moments… One day this bad habit would probably be the death of me. If Voldemort poofed in and I started spacing out in battle, I might as well just kiss the planet goodbye.

"Stop being so careless, Potter!" Snape shouted before slapping me on the back of my head. He scooped the drenched Draco up and took him away into his office for some cleaning up. I didn't protest against his actions this time since it really was my fault that Draco got splashed with my failed excuse of a potion. I proceeded with the rest of the potion by myself, damn this was not gonna turn out good without my little helper.

"Trust that Potter to get you wet like that, you're lucky as hell that it wasn't the acidic potion we were making last week," Snape muttered as he wiped Draco dry with a cloth. Draco said nothing but just smiled at the grouchy professor. Snape raised an eyebrow, he still hadn't gotten used to Malfoy being so smiley and cheerful, especially after getting splashed with some foreign potion. He would have flown into a rage in the past.

"Say, Draco…" the potions master said as he looked towards one of his messiest tables. Draco smiled and went "hmm?" as Snape began checking on all sorts of weird solutions at that table.

"You don't happen to remember much about what happened last time, right?"  
>"Um…Draco dun really wana talk about it."<br>"Do you remember the reason why you were de-aged?"  
>"Wazzat?"<br>"De-aged, you little poof. It means instead of growing older, you became wayyyy younger than you should be."  
>"Draco is three years old!" the little Slytherin beamed as he waved three fingers in front of Snape, who was trying his best not to lose his patience with him.<p>

"No, you were not three years old several months ago. You were Draco Malfoy, a teenage wizard studying in Hogwarts."  
>"Yes, Draco wanna study in Hogwarts but Draco need to wait couple more years to be big enuff!"<br>"Ahhhh…Anyway, tell Harry the potion's almost ready."  
>"Oki! What potion?"<br>"Just tell him and he'll know."  
>"Hmm…okay…"<p>

With that, Snape carried Draco out and I watched as the little Slytherin scampered towards me. Meanwhile, Snape had begun inspecting the product of our potions and I knew for sure mine would be the death of him.

"Harry! Professor say potion almost ready!" Draco exclaimed as he hopped into my arms. Before I could open my mouth to ask "what potion" it suddenly hit me like a bullet; oh right…THE potion. Wow, I never realized it would be more than half done at this time of the year. I had expected Snape to take longer since he always seemed to be so busy with his other stuff.

Damn…I know we've been anticipating the arrival of the potion for quite a while but this was really sudden. It's okay…It's okay…He said ALMOST ready, it's not ready yet…I can still have little Draco with me for quite some time…right?

"Harry, what potion is professor talkin about?"  
>"Um, just a little something that I requested for long time ago, nothing special."<br>"Tell Draco about it! Draco's curious!"

He was looking at me with those wide eyes I couldn't resist. Still, I couldn't tell him what the potion was for, could I? Well, it would explain a lot as to why everyone kept saying stuff like "when he goes back to normal"… But he wouldn't understand. Even if I took the time to tell him, I was worried; is it going to be too much information for him to handle in such a short time? What if this news frightens him? What if he becomes psychologically affected by this? What if he doesn't like what he hears and runs away? Runs away from Hogwarts? Runs away from us, his protectors, friends, family? What if he runs away from me…? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he left and never came back, and by never came back, I mean…what if he loses his life out there…? He's just a child…

"HARRYYYYYY!"  
>"Oh god, I'm sorry Dray." This sucks, how many times have I spaced out today…?<p>

"Potter, your potion is a disaster," Snape commented as he walked past my table, not even bothering to take another look. I guess my failing grade had already been decided for the day. Oh well, screw Snape and potions, I'm going to the next class. "By the way, Potter," Snape said as the class started to leave. "You got my message?"  
>I frowned, upon remembering the content of the message and nodded. Snape saw the tint of disappointment in my eyes and straightaway he knew what I was feeling. This was not good.<p>

~~~LATER THAT DAY~~~

"Headmaster, I have informed Harry that the special ageing potion is almost complete."  
>"Well done, Severus. But I sense that that's not the real reason why you have confronted me."<br>"Well, I guess you'd be able to guess what I'm about to say. It's Potter…he's gotten too attached to the young Malfoy, just as we feared. He doesn't want to let him change back to normal any more, I can see it in his eyes."  
>"That does pose as a problem. I could try talking to him, convince him to do what is right, but ultimately, the choice lies with him."<br>"Headmaster, the choice does NOT lie with Potter. Draco Malfoy needs to go back to normal and tell us what happened to him in the first place, why he was de-aged and by whom."  
>"I understand, Severus. However…give him some time, just keep working on the potion and when the time is right, we'll see how everything goes and make sure Harry keeps his cool."<br>"Whatever you say…"


	22. Chapter 22: Here and Now

Author's Note: Woot! New chapter already? Yayyyyy~ Thank you, my totally awesome reviewers for reviewing :D Hmm, currently I'm thinking about how the climax of the story is going to be like. Trust me, the climax is coming REAL SOON. Some time after this chapter hehe… Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please continue reviewing as well ^^ The bunch of you who added this story to your favorites and stuff recently, feel free to review too, I'd really like to see that, thanksssss

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 22<span>  
><span>Here and Now<span>

Ron hadn't stopped teasing me about how my potions grades would suck without Draco helping me even at the end of the day when we were heading back to our common room. I wasn't in much of a mood to have a friendly argument with him today. Normally I'd retaliate and we could go on an interestingly insulting argument for the next couple of hours. Not today. I had an edgy feeling that something was going to happen, but I couldn't exactly foretell it, all I saw in my mind was darkness.

"And then if you put all your grades together, it's going to add up to a FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF- I could go on forever you know- FFFFFFFFFFFFF!"  
>"Bugger off, Ronald. Can't you see Harry's not in the mood?"<br>"Fine, Hermione. But seriously, what's up, Harry?"

I shrugged my shoulders wearily. Draco was happily skipping about in front of us, leading the way. I couldn't take my eyes off him. The day would soon come where I wouldn't see a cheerful little blonde by my side, I just wanted to live every day like there was no tomorrow. I'd take advantage of every single day to spend time with him, even if I was busy in classes, I'd still play with him when we go back to the dormitory.

"He's ignoring us again…"  
>"Just leave it, I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready."<p>

It's not that I was ignoring them on purpose, I really didn't know what was wrong. I should be happy that Draco was going to return to his rightful age, teenage Draco would really want that for sure. But I don't really…

"Harry Potter."

A familiar voice called out. Ron, Hermione, Draco and I turned around to face someone that made Draco scream. Once again…

"SCARY BEARDIE! AHHHHHH!"  
>"Shhhh Dray, I told you the beard is perfectly harmless! It's just a tuft of hair, nothing to fear."<br>"Draco fear! Draco fear!"  
>"NO, Draco. Listen. NO FEAR."<p>

"Do you fear the beard, Draco?"  
>"Fe- …No fear…"<br>"I still don't understand why my beard is so scary…But Harry, I'd like a word with you." Dumbledore interrupted, clearly amused by my skills in calming a wailing Draco. I sighed, sensing what this little chat was going to be about. I waved my friends off and told them to take care of Draco while I was gone. Dumbledore looked confused as he watched the trio leave.

"Harry, why don't you let Draco come along with us?"  
>"Sir?"<br>"He follows you everywhere, why not let him follow us to my office?"

Was this man out of his mind? If Draco came, he'd hear more crap about 'de-aging' and 'the potion' and 'back to normal age'. Pretty soon we'd have to tell him the truth. I didn't want that to happen yet, at least not now.

"Professor, I don't think now is the right time. Could we just…"  
>"Very well, come along."<p>

I trailed behind the elderly headmaster as we walked towards his office. I was missing Draco already. Especially during this period of time when I knew he could change back any moment, I didn't want him to not be by my side. Hopefully this chat with Dumbledore would end quickly so I could return. Dumbledore closed the door as he instructed me to sit.

"You know why you are here, don't you, Harry?"  
>"It's about the potion, isn't it?"<br>"Well, partially, all you need to know that it would be ready some time this month. Isn't that great news?"

This month…? Sure I knew Snape said it would be ready soon but THIS MONTH?

"Haha…That's just totally awesome, sir…"  
>"That's not how you truly feel, Harry. You and I both know it."<p>

Damn, this old guy was smart. I guess it would have been pretty obvious that Draco and I had gotten really close over this period of time where I was being his guardian. Anyone could tell, from the way I was so protective, from the way I kept looking at him, from the way I showed care for him, from the way…I loved him.

"Remember what I told you not to do during our first chat this year? I know that was a long time ago but I hope you can-"  
>"I know, you told me not to get too attached to him."<br>"Yes. Apparently, you have failed to do that one simple task I asked of you. Although I can't really blame you, young Malfoy is as we say…extremely adorable at this age."  
>"You have no idea."<br>"Whatever the case is here, I think that it's best you let Draco know about what we're doing and why we're doing it. He doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark about his own issues."  
>"HE'S NOT GONNA TAKE IT WELL!" I burst out. I couldn't take it anymore, Dumbledore didn't understand what kind of trauma Draco might go through should he know the truth.<p>

"I beg your pardon, Harry?"  
>"Sorry but I really am against telling Draco the truth. Think about it, professor. We suddenly tell him all that crap and what's he going to do? If he believes us, he's going to despise us for not telling him earlier or something. If he doesn't believe us, he's going to be so confused and god knows what a confused little kid might do! I am NOT taking any risks, professor."<p>

The old man's eyes were wide in shock, obviously not knowing how to handle the situation here on. "What do you suggest we do then, Harry…?" He said in his usual soothing voice. I refused to look into his eyes, turning my head to gaze on the marble floor tiles. "We could…We could just feed him the potion, tell him it's a drink or something. He wouldn't suspect it at all."

I could see creases of worry forming on Dumbledore's already very creased face. He didn't think it was a good idea; I could tell. He was that kind of guy who thought everything should take its course naturally, and spiking Draco's drink wasn't what he imagined would be the best idea.

"You know…Draco might hate you if he realized what you did."  
>"He won't, he's a changed person. He'd know I did it for him…"<br>"I think I should let you know, the chances of Draco still keeping his memories of these past few months when he returns to his normal age are very small, almost near impossible actually. All he'll remember is being hit by the de-aging spell. After that, there would be no recollection of being at King's Cross or being in your hands whatsoever. In other words, even if you told him the truth, he probably wouldn't remember a thing later on. I'm just saying it would do YOU good as well if you had a clear conscience; just tell him, tell him everything. Think of it this way, you won't feel guilty for hiding the truth from him, and even if Draco does get angry, when he wakes up after the potion takes effect, he's not going to remember any of it. So what's the harm in letting the boy know what he should?"

I pondered over what Dumbledore said, realizing it wasn't that bad an idea after all. I guess Draco really wouldn't remember any of this anyway, I might as well just tell him the truth. But when? Right before he drinks the potion? Or before that? Wait no, if I tell him before he drinks it, he might not even be willing to drink it or trust anything I say anymore. Shit…

"Harry, I'm quite concerned." Dumbledore butt into my chain of thought.  
>"Well, you shouldn't be, sir. I promise I'll get this all sorted out."<br>"No, no. I mean I'm concerned for you. You keep spacing out at random moments. Is that an abnormal health condition or…?"  
>"…Professor, I assure you I'm physically…and mentally…stable."<br>"That's good to hear. Well, take some time to think about how to break the news to Draco, I strongly recommend you tell him, and soon."

I chose not to respond to that. I was getting really confused and pressurized. But now it was for two things; whether or not I should tell Draco the truth, AND…whether I truly wanted to let the potion be fed to him. I knew it was the right thing to do but…you really couldn't blame me for wanting to keep him by my side like this. Over the months, little Draco and I have gotten extremely…

…

Dumbledore was right…

Draco and I were really…really…really…

attached…

Author's Note: Oh nooooooooos it's a chapter full of talk but no action D: Sorry about that, but I felt like Harry needed to project his thoughts from time to time, even if it does result in him spacing out and Dumbledore thinking he's suffering from some mental disorder. Anyway, would you guys like to see some real action soon? Hehehe…honestly, I don't plan out my writing so every chapter is pretty much impromptu. Tell me what you hope to see or I'll just write out all the random things that come to my mind as usual =P See ya next time lol~ Once again, I shall annoy you with the same request: Please R&R! XD


	23. Chapter 23: Wit's End

Author's Note: WOW thanks for the reviews! Can't tell you how much I love you guys XD Okay this chapter is finally showing something being done and not just Harry's thoughts and space-out moments. Get ready for some action, and don't forget to review ^^

Acceptance  
>Chapter 23<br>Wits End

I turned the doorknob and stepped into my room, where I saw Draco on Ron's bed. I guess they had been having a conversation while I was gone. "Hey, welcome back, mate. Now take this little poof back to your bed, he said he wouldn't go to sleep if you didn't return," Ron said, ruffling the little Slytherin's blond hair. Draco giggled at this comment and waved his hands at me; it was his way of telling me to carry him. I shook my head, laughing, picking him up gently and hugged him.

"Draco missed Harry! Did scary bushy beardie do anything bad to Harry?" Draco asked, eyes wide with worry. This made both Ron and I laugh. After so long, the poor little guy was still afraid of the headmaster's harmless beard. I still couldn't understand that despite all the time I spent with him. After reassuring him that the beard did not harm me, Draco beamed with happiness and finally agreed to turn in.

"Sweet dreams, baby," I said, kissing his cheek. Draco blushed a little as he closed his eyes. Oh hell, I still couldn't resist his cuteness… Before I could allow myself to space out in dreamy thoughts, I quickly changed into my pajamas and climbed onto bed. "Goodnight, Ron," I called out to my best friend. That's when I remembered…

"Oh yeah, Ron, I need to tell you something. It's about Draco."  
>"What about him?"<br>"Snape said the potion's almost ready."  
>"What po- Oh…right…THE potion. Damn, so soon?"<br>"I know…Dumbledore advised me to tell Draco the truth before letting him drink the potion. But…oh god, you have no idea what I'm going through now. No one understands…"

Ron slammed his fist into the table, startling me. I was amazed Draco didn't wake up. But why the hell did Ron get so…

"You see, this is your problem, mate. You barely tell us anything these days. You keep everything to yourself, get super freaking stressed and then say 'nobody understands me'. Well, you know why nobody understands you? Cuz you don't tell us anything, you bloody git! Hermione told me you'd open up eventually, but I don't know how long that's gonna take, mate. If you still regard me as your best friend, you bloody well tell me what's going through that thick skull of yours right now," Ron snorted in a huff. I gulped. Okay…guess he's right…

"So…um…I know we've been anticipating the arrival of the potion for quite a while but now that it's actually almost ready, I kinda don't wanna…use it…"  
>"Are you serious?"<br>"Hell yeah. Haven't you noticed? Almost everyone prefers little Draco running about, being all friendly and lovable. Everyone likes him better like this. Everyone thinks he's cute. Everyone loves him in this state!"  
>"Why are you speaking for 'everyone'? Just admit it, YOU like him better like this, YOU think he's cute, YOU LOVE him in this state. And you're confused cuz you don't wanna let go of this newfound treasure, but you know it's unfair for him to be stuck having to grow up from 3 years old all over again, am I right?"<br>"Absolutely, hit the nail right on the head, mate."  
>"See? Don't you feel better now that you know I actually UNDERSTAND what you're going through? Just want you to know that Hermione and I…we're always going to be there for you. If you're having trouble making decisions, we might offer our suggestions, but you still get to make the choice in the end. It's just that having friends around makes life a hell lot easier, don't you think?"<br>"Yeah…Thanks, Ron. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier. So what do you think I should do?"

Ron seemed lost for a moment, but soon he suggested that we find Hermione tomorrow and the three of us could discuss. Ron and Hermione were right. I did need them. I seriously couldn't ask for better friends…

~~~THE NEXT DAY~~~

I walked out of potions class, heaving a sigh of relief. I had managed to convince Snape to babysit Draco for today, while my friends and I would be talking about my sticky situation any time we had the opportunity to. Eventually, we resorted to note passing in class. I thanked my lucky stars that most Hogwarts teachers were old coots who wouldn't notice little notes getting passed around:

Potty: Guys, quick, help me think of wad to do…  
>Wee: I think Ranger has something to say about dat<br>Ranger: Potty u r a dumbass, u noe dat?  
>Potty: thx Ranger<br>Ranger: I can't believe u were even thinkin abt not letting MALuminiumFOY return to his normal age. It's rly not fair for him. U want him to grow up without ever knowin d truth? Dumbledore Dumbodoor's right. I think u btr tell him the truth but only when he gives his consent, den we can giv him d potion  
>Wee: That's fucking stupid she has a point, mate<br>Potty: I don't rly wana let go, u guys. MALuminiumFOY has become a rly important part of my life of late, I'm sure u guys noe dat  
>Wee: duh, d whole bloody skool noes<br>Ranger: Wtv it is, tell MALuminiumFOY the truth. He deserves to noe, okay? Dun worry, nothing bad is gona happen  
>Potty: Oh crap I think Flitwick saw the note, one of you keep it, we'll talk later<p>

I saw Ron attempt to shove the magical note into his pocket, but failed miserably. I slapped my forehead when the note flew out of his grasp and under Neville's shoe. "Accio magic note," I whispered, eyeing the professor in case he caught me. Success! I kept the note in my rugged bag and stole a glance at my friends who chuckled, then we all acted as if nothing happened.

After class, Hermione and Ron took lots of time to knock some sense into me and eventually we decided how we were going to do things from here on. Honestly, I had no clue what the outcome would be, but it was worth a shot. And if we failed, things could get ugly…

"So how have you been, young Malfoy?"  
>"Draco happy, professor!"<br>"Potter doesn't bully you at all?"  
>"Of course not, Harry love Draco…But Draco loves Harry more hehe…Draco wins!"<p>

Snape held back a laugh, teenage Draco never liked to lose. Wow, apparently little Draco didn't like losing in weird situations like this too. Snape never thought of his favorite student as one who took joy in loving others. At least, he never projected himself to be that way. The potions master let out a sigh; as much as he wanted his favorite Slytherin back, he knew he sure as hell would miss the little one sitting in front of him.

Draco had been hanging around Snape's office the whole day, and I had yet to pick him up. Every step I took brought me closer to the room, and also closer to an outcome that I myself was unsure of. I had been having a vision in my mind that Draco would misunderstand and do something foolish. He better not…or I would never forgive myself. Well, whatever happens, I'm here now. I pushed through the door and saw something that made my hair stand on ends.

"Hello, Potter, here to take Draco back?" Snape greeted me. I brushed his greeting aside, I was more focused on Draco. What the hell was he…

"Dray…What are you drinking?"  
>"Mmm...Professor said I'd like it, and it tastes really good! Wanna try, Harry?"<p>

I froze. I think I actually stopped breathing. Snape wouldn't have given him the potion without my consent, would he? He knew how serious of a situation this was to me! What the fuck was going on? Why did no one tell me the potion was ready? How the hell could he…?

"WHAT THE HELL, SNAPE! HOW COULD YOU?"  
>"I don't know why you're getting so worked up over me giving young Malfoy a little-"<br>"You shut the crap up and listen. Ron, Hermione and I had been planning ALL day on how to break news to Draco, you have no right to just give him the potion like that! I know Dumbledore probably told you I didn't intend to tell him, but I changed my mind okay? We were gonna reveal everything to him before giving the potion! You freaking asshole! You ruined the plan!"  
>"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, POTTER? THIS IS JUST APPLE JUICE!"<br>"YOU GO TO HELL YOU- wait…what?"  
>"Yes, Potter…What Draco is drinking now…is apple juice…"<p>

My shaky finger was still pointing accusingly at the fuming potions master, but I dropped it down gradually, feeling the awkward tension building up. So…Draco wasn't drinking the potion…I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Harry…?"

The shy little voice spoke up, breaking the silence. "Is there something Draco dun know that Harry was gonna tell Draco?"

Snape and I exchanged nervous glances. If I did plan on hiding the truth from the young Slytherin, my shouting at Snape would have given me away. But I wasn't planning to hide, I was going to tell him today. But now, even if I yearned to back out at the last minute, I couldn't possibly… Draco knew something was up…and I had to tell him…now.


	24. Chapter 24: Enter, Lucius Malfoy

Author's Note: oooo it's been a while since I wrote a long chapter. Well, it's about time! Here's one :D Finally, the long awaited return of Draco's parents! Or...parent at least... Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please read and review! I love looking at you guys' reviews, honestly~ more of those would be nice ^^

Acceptance  
>Chapter 24<br>Enter, Lucius Malfoy

"_Is there something Draco dun know that Harry was gonna tell Draco?"_

The silence became almost deafening as no one spoke. I was still in a shock as to how I landed myself into this situation. According to how my friends and I planned, we were supposed to take things a step at a time; drop hints and finally tell him once he pretty much got the idea. But wow, this was just an unexpected blow in my face. I saw Draco starting to look nervous, and then…the familiar Malfoy scowl.

"HARRY TELL DRACO! WHAT HARRY HIDING?" He glared at me. I suddenly saw him as the intelligent teenage Malfoy and not the innocent little Draco. I knew he was already getting suspicious and his level of trust in me had dropped drastically. I bet he managed to piece bits of information, events and things we said that were weird, and found some sort of link by now. Sure, he was a little kid, but his mind…god, he was already freaking smart in his teens, for all we know, he was born smart. My theory was proved right when he spoke once more.

"Harry, Draco thinks he understands what been going on…"  
>"Well…what do you think?"<br>"Draco…not supposed to be three this year, right?"  
>"Correct…"<br>"Potion…Professor make potion so Draco can go back to correct age?"  
>"Right…"<br>"Then Draco just has one question. Harry tell truth okay?"

I bit my lip, having no clue what he was going to ask. "Why," Draco paused.  
>"If Harry knew about this all along, and if Ron and Hermione know too-"<br>"-Well actually everyone knows."  
>"…Wow…So if everyone knows…How come nobody tell Draco?"<p>

Shit, I should have seen this question coming. Snape, who hadn't spoken a word at all since he mentioned the orange juice, decided to come to my rescue this time. "Listen, Draco. Harry's been having a hard time for the past few months. He just-"

"Let me handle it, professor," I decided against letting him speak up for me. Even if he was trying to help, I have known him long enough to know that he had the irrational tendency of turning praise into insult. And this only applies to me…Unfortunately. So before he could ruin my image any further, I decided to speak up for myself.

"Because, Draco. I was afraid you wouldn't understand, I was afraid that…once you found out what happened, you'd be so confused as to why you had to be de-aged and abandoned and stuff like that. I don't have ALL the answers, okay? All I know is the day I saw you at King's Cross, I simply had to take you in, care for you, protect you until the potion was ready…I never regretted that decision at all. I hope you don't regret placing your trust in me too…I know this is hard to understand but the reason I took so long to tell you the truth was because…well…maybe I just didn't want to let you go. I was so attached to you, I didn't want all the memories to go away. I was selfish…I wanted you to be mine forever. Screw it all, what I'm trying to say is… I love you… I'm sorry, don't hate me for hiding the truth from you, please…"

The look of disgust was written all over Snape's face, but it was mixed with understanding as well. Draco, on the other hand, looked at me, nodding as if he understood how I felt. But how could that be possible, I struggled with my feelings for months. It's impossible that a three year old could understand it all. Then again, this was Draco…my Draco…

"Harry…"Draco's voice dropped to a shaky whisper. "Draco will…never hate you. Draco understand." I lifted my head and looked into his honest, silvery eyes. He did understand. After all, he wasn't genuinely a three year old… But he really forgave me?

"But Dray, don't you despise me for not telling you what you should have known from the very beginning?"  
>"Harry was just worried for Draco, yes?"<br>"Of course, baby…"  
>"Then Draco have no reason to hate Harry. Never had reason. Draco love Harry! Forever and ever!"<p>

I beamed between tears as I saw Draco jumping up from his seat and running towards me, hands open wide. I held my arms out, inviting the hug I knew was going to come. Soon, I found myself embracing the little Slytherin once more. I was definitely relieved and happy that he didn't hate me. Ron and Hermione were right; things would turn out fine in the end. But this wouldn't have been possible if Draco didn't react the way he did. Up till now, I was still stumped as to why he didn't despise me or bear any hatred towards me after all those mistakes I made that hurt him. Especially the Zabini incident…I could have sworn at that point that Draco would hate me for life, but he didn't. Things just didn't turn out to be as bad as I expected. Hmm…maybe I was just too negative a person…or maybe it was because Draco loved me as much as I loved him, and couldn't bring himself to hate me? Nah, how the hell could I see myself as someone that lovable… Even if Draco does love me, he'll never know how much MORE I am in love with him.

"Don't worry anymore, okay, Harry? Draco will be safe as long as Harry is here! Draco will drink potion if Harry wants, but if Harry don't want Draco to drink, then Draco won't drink!" Draco exclaimed, burying his face into my shirt. He was kinda crushing me, but I didn't mind. How could I mind having this adorable, little boy with me? (even if he was squishing the living soul out of me) I kissed him and wrapped my arms tighter around him. God knows how relieved I was to have him not hate me and still be so affectionate and loving towards me. ME; the boy who hid the truth from him. Hell, why was he so forgiving…?

"AHEM…" Snape coughed in the corner. Oh right, his existence had been completely ignored for the past few minutes. "If you don't mind, Potter, snogging in my office is strictly prohibited," the potions master shot us his usual glare. "We're not snogging, professor, he's freaking three." "Just get out of my office, Potter. I'll let you know when the potion is ready."

With that, he pushed me, with Draco in my arms, out the door and slammed it shut. I couldn't blame him. The scene between Draco and I was not something the average wizard would see every day. I smirked slightly as Draco attempted to knock on Snape's door to say goodbye, then carried him with me to the next class. There was still about ten minutes left to the end of lunch time, maybe we should just head back to the great hall to see if Ron and Hermione were still there.

"Harry, Draco wondering…"  
>"Yes, Dray?"<br>"Draco hasn't seen daddy or mommy for long time…does Harry know where they are?"

I gazed into his watery eyes, sensing tears about to fall. He was right, it HAS been a while since he last saw his parents. For me, I haven't seen my parents in years and I still haven't exactly gotten over their deaths entirely, and it's all fucking Voldemort's fault. Speaking of Voldemort…

"No, baby. I don't know where your parents are but I'm sure you'll see them soon…And…maybe I'll be able to confront your Daddy's professor and have a nice little chat with him about what he did to you," I said through gritted teeth. Hopefully I didn't frighten Draco, but I couldn't help the heat of anger brewing within me. I wanted to kill Voldemort. If not for him, Draco wouldn't have to feel so confused. But…if not for him, Draco would never have gotten de-aged and I wouldn't have been able to take care of him.

Draco gave a small frown and clung to me, eyes squeezed shut. I could feel my clothes getting slightly wet; my poor baby was crying. I stroked his back and whispered words of comfort to him as I made my way to the great hall. Somehow, whenever Draco cried, I felt as if I was responsible for it. Draco would look so sad, pitiful, and it made me want to apologize even though I wasn't the cause of his misery. Honestly, a lovable little child like him shouldn't have to experience sadness and tears so often. He should be running around, playing happily with his family and friends…

"Daddy," I heard Draco mutter. I ignored it, assuming he was simply sleeptalking or something like that. But then he repeated again, this time, louder, "Daddy."

"Draco, I'm not your Daddy."  
>"Nono, not Harry. Draco mean DADDY!"<p>

I noticed Draco was suddenly sitting up in my arms and pointing to the back in awe. I spun around, careful not to drop the excited-looking Slytherin. My mouth dropped open when I saw a man approaching us. He resembled Draco quite a lot, except much taller, older, and err…longer hair, which somehow wasn't as 'scary' as Dumbledore's beard.

"Potter…" Lucius Malfoy started, looking from Draco to me. "What are you doing…holding my son like that?"  
>"Um…Well I- you see, Mr. Malfoy…I actually- I was-"<p>

Crap, I was stuttering like mad. This was seriously a moment of mixed emotions. Draco was just asking about his parents a moment ago and voila, speak of the devil, the man was here. I guess Draco would be happy to see him, but what did he want? Was he here to take Draco back? Did he not like how Draco and I appeared so close? Shit, he didn't even know I was his caretaker…

I yelped as the stern-looking man stepped forward, arm stretched out towards us. I was about to back away in protest, but it turned out I didn't need to.

"Draco Malfoy, you know you're not supposed to sit like that when someone carries you. Where has your manners and etiquette gone?" came the astonishing remark. Draco held back an embarrassed giggle as his father prattled on and on.  
>"And look at that hair! Good god, what a disgraceful mess. You should know better than to – holy crap is that a tear stain? What has Daddy been teaching you, Draco? Malfoys DO NOT cry!"<br>"Um…sir?" I blinked my eyes in confusion, expecting to have been hit or have Draco snatched away from me or something. The older Malfoy then sighed and bent over, "look, Potter. Dumbledore told me what you've done. I've gotta hand it to you, I'm really amazed at the fact that my son is still in one piece. I'm pleased to see he's looking rather well."  
>I raised my eyebrows, still in quite a state of confusion. Didn't he just mock how terrible of a state his son was in…? Now he says he's looking well. God, Malfoys are so unpredictable…<p>

"He's such a bloody handful… I was afraid no one would take him in, and I was starting to fear that leaving him at King's Cross was a bad idea. But then I got wind from Dumbledore that a certain famous wizard was willing to bear the responsibility of caring for my son."

So…Dumbledore already knew of my decision to take Draco with me to Hogwarts from the very start. Figures, nothing ever escaped the old man. But I was still quite lost. Why was Lucius Malfoy here, how the hell did he get here, and what did he want…?

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Malfoy but um…you're not here to take Draco back, are you? Because…the ageing potion isn't exactly ready yet."  
>"Ageing potion? Goodness, you're really planning to age him back, are you? All the effort my wife and I had put in to this protection plan would go to waste if you did!"<br>"But this isn't fair to him!"  
>"It's fair as long as he's protected from the Dark Lord!"<p>

"Daddy, Harry, don't fight!" Draco exclaimed, squeezing my hand. This made me remember my promise at the infirmary not to be aggressive or fierce in Draco's presence, and I stopped arguing. We'd have to take this 'discussion' somewhere else…

Lucius seemed to realize he had frightened his son and toned down a little. He was slightly hurt by the fact that Draco was still clinging to Harry and not excitedly running to him after not seeing him for such a long period of time.

"Well, then why are you here, Mr. Malfoy?" I asked, trying to maintain respect for the man. Draco looked at his father with curiosity glinting in his eyes, waiting for an answer as well. I nearly jumped when Lucius Malfoy suddenly went, "SHIT!" I could have sworn Draco lifted his hands to his ears upon hearing the loud, megaphoned version of the swear word.

"I need to see Dumbledore immediately, this is an emergency, Potter, I don't need any excuses like 'oh I'm going to be late for class' because screw classes. We've got more important things to worry about. The Dark Lord is planning something, I don't know what, but he's furious that Narcissa and I have hidden Draco. I sense trouble brewing and my son's life is in potential danger, so is yours, but screw your life, MY SON's life is going to be on the line should the Dark Lord successfully infiltrate Hogwarts. So, take me to the old coot now."

I wasn't sure if I was offended by the statement about my life not mattering or if I was in extreme shock by the sudden fact that Voldemort could be coming to Hogwarts. Draco's life was in danger? Shit, no! I couldn't let that happen! Even if Draco's father was being a rude bastard to me, he was still Draco's nice, loving father…somewhere deep down inside that he probably wouldn't show me, I guess…and I was going to help him. Help us, rather. Or more importantly, help Draco. I knew we shouldn't lead strangers to Dumbledore's office, let alone freaking death eaters. But this was an emergency…right?

"Daddy, what happening? Why Daddy talk so fast?" Draco waved his short little arms frantically. When he got no response and noticed his father staring at me with a hysterical look on his face, he glanced up at me. "Harry, what's going on?"

"Well, Draco…" I said hesitantly, then turned my attention to Lucius Malfoy. "Looks like we're going to pay a little visit to Dumbledore."

Draco gulped and buried his head in my chest once more. Yup, we were going to see the scary bush beardie soon. I nodded at the older Malfoy and led the way as we sprinted up a flight of stairs. God knows what's going to happen next…


	25. Chapter 25: Disagreements

Acceptance  
>Chapter 25<br>Disagreements

I stood hesitantly outside Dumbledore's door, still unsure whether or not I should let a deatheater into the room of our Headmaster. If this was a ploy to kill him and infiltrate Hogwarts, then it would seem that the plan was going swimmingly if I really did let the man in. "What are you waiting for, boy?" Lucius glared down at me, but softened a little when his son peeped at him and smiled. I decided that this was all going to be for Draco, whatever consequences that came out of it, I would be the one to bear them. With that, I led the deatheater in, only to find the room empty.

"Where is Dumbledore, Potter?"  
>"I don't know. He's supposed to be somewhere in here."<br>"Maybe he went to shave scary beardie!" Draco said hopefully. "Or at least Draco hope so…"

Just as we spoke of him, the elderly headmaster emerged from the shadows, holding a book. To Draco's utter dismay, yes, the beard was still intact.

"Ah, Lucius, I've been expecting your arrival for quite some time now," he greeted. "I would have thought you'd come earlier since I told you your son was in Harry's hands on the day you left him at King's Cross. What took you?"  
>"Dumbledore, you must realize that what Narcissa and I did was for his own safety. As a child, the Dark Lord wouldn't be able to locate him as easily as when he's in his teens. But as of now, I've heard rumors that he is very much aware of Draco's whereabouts and is looking for the right time to infiltrate Hogwarts and kill him for his incompetency. Listen, I didn't want my son to be a murderer back then, but now he is the one at risk of being murdered, not you."<p>

Wait, Dumbledore was going to get murdered? Maybe that's what Draco was trying to tell me that time. That's why Lucius said he didn't want his son to become a murderer at that age. Voldemort wanted Draco to kill Dumbledore…

I felt Draco shift about uncomfortably in my hands. He looked really tense. "You okay, Dray?" I asked worriedly. I earned nothing more than a feeble nod by the scared-looking slytherin. My guess was that he didn't like what he was hearing; his father retelling a bad story and the idea of the evil 'professor' returning to kill him wasn't exactly pleasing to the ears. I hugged Draco and stroked his back gently as we observed the two adults conversing.

"I guessed as much, Voldemort is not stupid. He would have located Draco sooner or later anyway. But we're going to have to change your son back to his normal age eventually."  
>"I don't think that's necessary, Dumbledore. When he's this small, it would be easier to carry him around to hide him and keep him safe."<br>"This isn't a game Lucius. Your son is a teenager, he's not a three year old kid. I believe Harry would have mentioned before, we're not being fair to him. Furthermore, keeping him as a toddler isn't going to make Voldemort soften up and spare his life. He stands a higher chance of survival against the dark lord if he's back to his normal age, what he needs to learn is 'defense', not 'how to hide from evil, scary men."

I rolled my eyes. In Draco's point of view, Dumbledore himself was a scary man, courtesy of his apparently terrifying beard. But on a more serious note, this was quite a nerve wrecking situation. What were we to do should Voldemort succeed? What was his plan? Whether it was to kill Dumbledore or Draco, I didn't want to risk seeing anymore friends or family dying. Whatever plan Dumbledore was going to coin up, I wanted to play a part in it. Especially since this was a matter of life and death, particularly for Draco. Right now, the last person I wanted to lose was him…

"Defense? Defense? You daft old man, my son doesn't know how to defend himself well enough! He's going to die out there! He doesn't stand a chance against the dark lord! Why do you think I had to de-age him? It would be safer for him if people protected him as a little boy!"  
>"Lucius, he is strong. You can't keep him under your wing forever, you know? I could train him personally if you want, but I can assure you that the other professors of Hogwarts will try to keep him safe as well. Clearly, for some reason, Voldemort saw Draco as someone capable of killing me. If he's capable of such a thing, I'm sure he has the potential to do the same to Voldemort too, with a little help, of course," Dumbledore then turned to face me. Lucius Malfoy stared long and hard at me before shooting a questioning glance at the old wizard. I, on the other hand, was once again pretty much lost as to what the hell was going on here. "I have discovered someone that your boy has taken a liking to, and would be able to cooperate very well with. With Harry's help, both of them could potentially stop Voldemort."<p>

"What, me?"  
>"Yes, you, Harry."<br>"But I couldn't possibly-"  
>"Yes you can, you both can. I believe in you."<p>

I still couldn't take my eyes of Draco's father, he was practically staring daggers at me. It was creepy as hell. I could understand why he didn't trust his son to be around me any longer. I was a magnet for trouble, and one of Voldemort's favorite past times was to think about how to brutally kill me. If his target was Draco, and I was protecting his target, this would ultimately stir up his inner demon and tempt him to cause a huge bloodbath. Two of the people he wanted to murder were going to work together to take him down, no way in hell was he going to let us win…

"Dumbledore, my son is NOT going to be working with Potter," Lucius scowled and sent me another death glare. Damn, why did Malfoys have the tendency to hate me so much? Draco began tugging at my shirt, "what do they want Harry and Draco to do…?"

I had no idea how to answer that, so I simply shrugged my shoulders. Who knew whether Lucius or Dumbledore would make the final decision? Finally, Dumbledore declared, "Lucius, this is a crucial situation. If Voldemort really is coming to Hogwarts like you said, then we need to age Draco back up again and start getting everyone prepared to take him down, your son in particular needs the most training. I have a feeling that Voldemort won't spare him the moment he manages to get his hands on him." Draco and I turned to focus on Lucius, waiting for his reaction to Dumbledore's statement. Astonishingly, he said absolutely nothing. But I tensed up when he approached me, looking fiercely at me in the eye. Without warning he snatched Draco away from me roughly, causing Draco to yelp in pain. "My son is going to do no such thing in your plan. If Hogwarts fails to protect him, I shall do so myself!" he bellowed.

"Lucius, calm down," Dumbledore said, almost too calmly. I stared at the older Malfoy in disbelief. How could he be so freaking selfish? Then I heard a whimper coming from Draco. Shit, he's in pain! Without putting much thought into my actions, I attempted to take Draco away from his father, noticing the pain he was causing my poor baby. The death eater simply pushed me away with his free hand, the other hand still crushing Draco around his middle…

"Dumbledore, I was a fool to have allowed Draco into the hands of one of your students. Even worse, it's POTTER of all people," he spat as he mentioned my name. Damn, I was really starting to hate this guy. When I saw him a while ago, he wasn't so…deatheater-like… Dumbledore sighed and replied, "I understand your concern for your son, Lucius, but please spare a thought for the poor child. I'm quite sure he knows what he wants, and I highly doubt he regrets being taken care of by Harry. Furthermore-"

"Ahhhh Harry help! Daddy LET DRACO GO! Please! It hurts...!"

All attention shifted immediately to Draco. That's when I remembered what Madam Pomfrey said about his severely weakened stomach, which was now getting terribly crushed by the firm grip. I rushed forward and this time, managed to retrieve the Slytherin who had already burst into tears, clutching his aching tummy. Lucius Malfoy was dumbfounded; he had hurt his own son.  
><em>What did I just do? I just wanted to protect him and do what's best for him. Potter is just a dumb fuck…Or am I the dumb fuck…? Am I really protecting Draco or…?<em>

"Draco! Holy crap, are you okay?" I cried out in alarm. Draco was panting really hard and clutching his stomach with so much force that I was afraid he would be inflicting pain on himself like that. The poor boy was in tears, clearly in a great deal of pain. Okay…What did Madam Pomfrey tell me to do in situations like this? Somehow I didn't remember her giving me any clear instructions regarding how to handle Draco's abdominal pains, so I did the first thing any concerned guardian would do; I pulled him into a comforting embrace and kissed him.

"Hush, Dray…Don't cry, I'm here, okay? The pain will go away."  
>"Harry…Don't…I…go…please…Draco…dowana…Draco don't want…"<br>"What did you say?"  
>"Harry, Draco don't wana leave wif Daddy. Draco want Harry! Harry stay with Draco, please…"<p>

I tossed a concerned glance at the father of the child I was embracing. He didn't look too happy at his son's statement. Well I could imagine the sadness tearing him apart. Who would want to hear their child telling them that he would prefer being with someone else rather than his own parents? If Draco was any other normal child, I'd just tell him not to argue and just leave with his dad right now. But the thing is…he wasn't any other normal child. He was Draco…my Draco. And I wouldn't want him getting hurt, I'd want him to be happy. With that, I stood up with the whimpering Slytherin wrapped up, protected in my arms. Lucius Malfoy looked at me in the eye, and I believed I saw a hint of intimidation in them. Clearing my throat, I declared…

"Listen, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sorry but…as much as I know you want to protect Draco and keep him by your side, I think you and I…and Dumbledore…AND everyone else…knows that you can be quite a violent and aggressive douchebag. After seeing what you just did to your son, I think you get the idea. Now, I for one don't want to see Draco get hurt, even if it's unintentional. And you, unfortunately, are a potential source of danger to him. I love Draco, I care about him more than you or anyone can imagine. So if you don't mind, I'm going to take him back into my room for some well needed rest. I ask of you with all due respect to leave Draco in the safe hands of Hogwarts, we will change him back to normal and keep him safe from Voldemort. I promise, everything will be fine. Just don't try to take him away now, seriously…I won't like it…at all."

Upon receiving a stern glare, mixed with some form of guilt, from the older Malfoy, I coughed another comment. "Not just me, but everyone in Hogwarts, I believe, wouldn't like the idea of a dangerous deatheater taking the Draco they've gotten so attached to over the past few months away from them. Not forgetting…Draco won't like it either."

Lucius furrowed his eyebrows, face contorted with some unknown emotion. He looked helplessly at his son's pained expression. Draco turned his head away from his father and cried into my shoulder. I sighed and walked out of Dumbledore's office. I wasn't going to care what Lucius Malfoy thought for now, I just wanted to keep Draco safe with me…


	26. Chapter 26: Decisions Right or Wrong?

Author's Note: Yoyoyoyo! It's awesome to see more of you favoriting and following this crappy excuse of a story :D Please review more too! A big thank you for those of you who did once again, love you guys loads ^^ Anyway, I'm on a one week vacation in ShenZhen China now…Kinda boring…ahhh my internet sucks. Sorry I broke my routine of submitting chapters every Friday and Sunday :x There was simply too much travelling around lately… Well, hope you enjoy this chapter, remember to review! xD

Acceptance  
>Chapter 26<br>Decisions; Right or Wrong?

I had mixed emotions circling around my mind at the moment. First of all, I was pissed off at Lucius Malfoy for being such an inconsiderate jerk and for hurting Draco. Secondly, I was worried for Draco since I had no idea what I should actually do about his aching tummy this time and it looked as if he was in great pain. Thirdly, I was still facing this inner battle within myself. I knew it was wrong to keep Draco as a child, but some part of me couldn't help but agree with Lucius Malfoy that keeping him that way was a better idea… Shit, I really don't know what to do anymore…Should I give Draco the potion or not…?

"Ow…" I heard Draco groan, causing my heart to ache for him as well. I decided against going to my room, instead headed up to the infirmary to seek immediate help. Just then, I saw two familiar faces approaching.

"Hey Harry!" Ron and Hermione greeted in unison. "And hello to you, Draco!" Hermione giggled, patting his little blond head, only to receive a pained groan from the young Slytherin. "What's wrong with him, Harry? He looks rather ill," Hermione shot me a serious, yet concerned look. I told my friends what happened in Dumbledore's office while we walked briskly to the infirmary. They both had looks of disgust written all over their faces and I was glad to know my best friends agreed with me that Lucius Malfoy was bring a dickhead. Period.

Finally, we reached the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey brought us in and began checking on Draco, at the same time questioning me about what happened.

"Well, let's just say we had a little run in with his dad and…um…Mr. Malfoy happened to grab Draco roughly and secured a tight, firm grip around his stomach. Damn, he's such an asshole of a parent! Imagine, hurting his son like that…That bastard…"  
>"Language, Potter!"<br>"Sorry…It's just…I swore to keep Draco safe, but I still never seem to be able to succeed."  
>"I'm sure Draco's father didn't intend to hurt him. Now I need you all to go back outside for now, apparently more work needs to be done here than I expected."<br>"Why? I-Is there something wrong with Draco?"

The nurse didn't answer my questioned but simply pushed three of us out of the infirmary, leaving us confused and worried. Soon, I could hear Draco's loud cries for her to stop hurting him. I assumed she had begun the tummy-prodding already. Shit, he must be in a lot of pain… He's really sensitive to the prodding… Once again, the sense of guilt was beating down upon me; I should have done a better job protecting Draco from getting hurt.

"Listen, mate. Stop blaming yourself," Ron said, as if he read my thoughts. But honestly, I couldn't help it. Draco had been my responsibility for quite a while now, and every few months he ends up injured or sick. Anyone could come to an obvious conclusion that Harry Potter sucks at being a guardian and can't even take care of a three year old kid. "Oh, by the way," Hermione cut in. "When are you going to give Draco the potion? Is he okay with it?"

"About that, Hermione…Um…well yeah he's totally fine about it. He just wants whatever I want. So it's like...if I tell him to drink it, he will listen to me. If I decide not to, then I'm sure he'd be more than happy to oblige. Draco wants me to be happy and um…I've been thinking…"

Ron and Hermione exchanged quick glances before they both pinned me against the wall. Holy shit, I have to admit I didn't see that coming.

"Harry, NO WAY. You're not going to go back on your word!"  
>"Yeah, mate. Stop being such a muddled-up git. We agreed it's best to change him back!"<br>"I know, okay, I know! But don't you get it? Lucius Malfoy had a point! If we want to keep him safe from Voldemort, we should let him remain as a child so that it's convenient for us to carry him about and hide him or something, I don't know…But I just really want to protect him, I feel like it's my duty…"  
>"Fine, but let's say Voldemort is killed. Then what? You're gonna change Draco back? Or are you gonna be a selfish prat like Lucius Malfoy and leave him as a child?"<br>"I…I…"

Damn, these two really knew how to stump me. I couldn't even figure out what I wanted anymore. No…What I want is what Draco wants…I want Draco to be happy, safe, cheerful…

"I don't know guys, I've just been through a hell of confusion lately. You know everyday I'm battling with my conscience and my feelings…But anyway…The potion isn't ready yet so…there's nothing much we can do at the moment."  
>"Harry, you can't let this drag on much longer. Sooner or later, you're going to have to make the ultimate decision."<br>"There you are, Potter…"

Ron, Hermione and I gasped upon hearing the random voice that just popped into our conversation. Turning around, we came face to face with the infamous potions master who was holding something in his hand…A bottle, was it? I paused and stared at the green liquid within it.

"Hello professor. What's this? More apple juice for Draco?" I forced a feeble laugh, although I was still unable to entirely mask away my face of worry. Ron and Hermione were staring at the peculiar bottle of green liquid as well. I think we all knew…or at least suspected it was…

"No, Potter. This time, it's real. It's the ageing potion. Now where's Draco, is he ready for the intake?"

Silence. A deadly silence. Yes, it was a cold and deadly silence that engulfed the hallway outside the infirmary. Could it be…? The potion was truly ready? This was the potion that could ultimately change Draco back to normal and more than likely change my life as well?

A stern and serious look on the potions master's face told me that my instincts were right. There was no sign of a "haha just kidding, Potter!" at all. Then again, there never was; seeing as it's Snape we're talking about. Nevertheless, I could feel countless shivers tingling down my spine as I forced myself to face reality; reality in a bottle…

Author's Note: Omg I'm super freaking sorry this chapter was short _ I barely had any time! Forgive meeeeeee! I'll make the next one longer, pinky promise!


	27. Chapter 27: The Ultimatum

Author's Note: GASP! A new chapter so soon? YOU BET! xD Well guys, I guess this is one of the climaxes of the story. Some of the things unexplained in this chapter will be explained in later chapters, don't worry ^^ Although if I forget to do so, I apologize in advance D: My vacation is ending soon and I have loads of homework to catch up on (nooooo!) there's no telling when my next update will be, but I might successfully prepare one on my flight tomorrow~ Oh and here's a fun guessing game, which country do you think I'm from? :D first one who gets the right answer gets to have your name mentioned at some point in the story weeee~ It's kinda hard to guess though…at least I think it is…But that aside, it's time for chapter 27, enjoy!

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 27<span>  
><span>The Ultimatum<span>

"Well, what are you waiting for, Potter? Are you going to take the potion or not?" Snape scoffed, making me tremble slightly. Just like Ron and Hermione said moments ago, I had to make the decision as soon as possible. Yeah, I was aware of that, I just didn't realize SOON was THIS SOON. Come to think of it though, I had already made the decision long ago, but kept changing my mind every few days. Damn me and my contrariness.

Unexpectedly, Madam Pomfrey burst out through the doors of the infirmary, panting and perspiring profusely. The sight of her was a shock to all of us standing outside. What made her so panicky? I soon got my answer when she began shouting frantically;

"ANY ONE OF YOU HAS A SEIZURE-CALMING POTION? ANYONE?"

Seriously? I would have thought the infirmary would contain a manifold of potions like that. So, either Hogwarts' infirmary sucks ass or they ran out of seizure-calming potions…but...run out? How'd they run out of that so quickly? Don't tell me…

The hysterical nurse caught sight of the astounded potions master and dashed towards him. Snape backed away and flinched when Madam Pomfrey began grasping at his cloak and shaking him vigorously, "You're a potion's master, tell me you have a seizure-calming potion right now! PLEASE!"  
>"Don't you nurses already have-"<br>"YES WE DID. BUT WE USED IT ALL ON OUR CURRENT PATIENT!"  
>"How did you use ALL of it-"<br>"WE FACED SOME COMPLICATIONS WE WERE NEVER FACED WITH BEFORE. I'LL EXPLAIN LATER! BUT NOW, POTION PLEASE!"  
>"Wait, who-"<br>"PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE, YOU TELL ME THIS INSTANCE IF YOU HAVE A SEIZURE-CALMING POTION OR NOT!"  
>"Well…I probably have some down in my office, but it's going to take quite a while to get all the way down and up. Is it an emergency?"<br>"DOES THIS NOT LOOK LIKE AN EMERGENCY TO YOU, YOU BLUNDERING GREASY-HAIRED FOOL? MY PATIENT IS ON THE VERGE OF DEATH AND YOU-"

Just then, another nurse interrupted and pulled Madam Pomfrey back inside to stop internal bleeding or something along those lines. But holy shit…DYING? My eyes went wide and my vision was getting blurry; fogged by tears. How the hell did this happen? It was just a regular tummy ache, wasn't it? Before that, Draco was still perfectly normal, all happy and cheery until Lucius Malfoy came into the picture. How hard of a grip did the guy have? I didn't really have much time to think about that though, I was pretty preoccupied going into a deep state of panic for my poor baby. This shouldn't have happened! Wait no, it really was my fault. I shouldn't have let it happen…

Ron and Hermione rushed to my side just as I nearly fell over. Although my friends were sharing my sorrow and panic, this was still too much to handle in such a short period of time. Draco was dying somehow due to some unexpected complications, according to Madam Pomfrey at least. But I knew I had to be blamed as well. "Hang in there, Harry. Draco's going to be alright, you'll see!" Hermione reassured me. As much as I wanted to trust her, the shakiness in her voice, the trembling I could feel coming from both of my friends, my own trembling, Snape's state of shock and Madam Pomfrey's hysterical entrance convinced me otherwise. Was I really going to lose Draco…? No…I can't lose him!...NO!

"Potter, is the patient who I think it is?" Snape questioned, now looking fairly worried. I couldn't even bear to lift my head to reply him, so I simply nodded, although it was barely noticeable. I think Snape got the answer though. He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. We were both surprised that I didn't retract at his touch because it seemed very OOC for him to be comforting towards me. But just as suddenly as he placed his hand on my shoulder, he released me and lifted the bottle in his hands. My friends and I stopped moping for a brief moment, looking from our professor to the bottle in curiosity. That's when Snape beamed, "The ageing potion!"

Ron and I were still confused. Yeah, he's holding the ageing potion. So what? It's not the seizure-calming potion that Draco needs! Who gives a shit about the ageing potion anymore if Draco's not gonna live to even use it? But Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "Of course!"

"You know what this means, don't you miss Granger?"  
>"Yes, professor! I read about this during summer vacation last year. The ageing potion contains calming effects! Remarkably enough, the ingredients used for ageing potions and seizure-calming potions are unbelievably similar. With this ageing potion, we might just be able to save Draco!"<p>

This new fact was like an angel's serenade to my ears. There was hope! "What are you waiting for, you greasy-haired git! Give the potion to the nurse!" I shouted at Snape, who looked like he was going to say "ten thousand points from Gryffindor" due to the rude name-calling. But he did nothing of the sort and simply nodded, running into the infirmary with the potion grasped firmly in his hand. I sank to my feet, once again, overcome with mixed emotions. It was only after I sent Snape in did I realize that I had already made a quick decision of returning Draco back to his normal age. Yes, it was the right thing to do but… I only did it because it was a matter of life and death! If I didn't give it to Draco, he would die for sure. With this potion, he might just survive…! …And…become a teenager again…

Ron bent down to my eye level and smiled, telling me Draco would live and that I made a wise choice to give him the potion. But was it really wise? Because it seemed like a rather rash decision to me…

"Mr. Potter, you must come in at once!" Madam Pomfrey stuck her head out the door once more. Shit, it better not be more so-called 'complications'… "Mr. Malfoy refuses to drink the potion! He won't listen to any of us, but YOU…I believe you can convince him to drink it. Come inside, quickly!"

Ah…Draco, you stubborn little poof…

I got up, wobbling a little as the blood rushed to my head once again. I was getting really dizzy and my head hurt after all the random shocks and unexpected surprises. I would seriously need a long break after all this is over. And by over, I meant Draco recovering…not dying…of course not dying…at least I hope not…

I rushed inside to witness probably the most dramatic scene in my life. Nurses were running around everywhere, handling all sorts of liquids and sponges and blood-stained cloth. Draco's screams of pain were ear-piercing. It hurt me to hear him in so much pain… The closer I got to his bed, the clearer I got to see how bad of a state he was in. A nurse was holding him down while another was injecting him with something while Madam Pomfrey was waiting for the right moment to give him the ageing potion. There was blood splattered all over the bedsheets and there was practically a waterfall of blood streaming down from Draco's mouth. He was coughing blood and heaving pitifully. Why did an innocent, adorable child have to suffer a fate like this?

"HARRY!" Draco yelled, reaching his arms towards me, still coughing large amounts of blood. I was panic stricken; he was losing a hell load of blood… "Hush, Draco, I'm here. Don't be scared! Look, I'm right here with you," I stated as calmly as I could. I even tried to smile, but I'm afraid it looked more like I was about to cry. I reassured the nurses with a calming look and sat on the bed next to Draco. Once again, I felt the same feeling I felt so many times before; time was stopping, stopping for us. Now everyone and everything else was out of sight, out of mind, out of our lives. We had each other, and that was that. I couldn't ask for anything more. Almost immediately after one of the nurses released her grip on Draco, he lunged forward into my arms, crying ever so loudly. I wasn't sure if the wet stain I felt was tears or blood, but it didn't matter. Now, I have to do my part before it's too late.

"Har-ry! Dra-Draco so s-scared! Dr-Drac-co gonna die r-right?"  
>"No no no don't say that, baby. You won't die, I won't let you!"<br>"But…b-blood…and…E-everywhere hurts…'s-specially Draco's t-tummy…"  
>"You're going to be okay…I love you, Draco…"<br>"Draco love Harry too!"

I wiped a tear away. If Draco wasn't on the verge of death, this would be another one of those moments I enjoyed; Draco and I proclaiming our love for each other and giving loving hugs and…and…hell, this isn't the same…

"Listen, Dray…You need to drink the potion, alright?"  
>"Drac-Draco c-can't!"<br>"You have to! If you don't…I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to lose you! Please, be a good boy, Draco…"  
>"Potion's going t-to hurt Draco's tum-tummy…"<br>"I know but, it's only temporary! After that, you're going to be okay, I promise! No more pain. You'll be happy, free, healthy and you can have anything you want!"  
>"A-anything…?"<br>"Yes…I promise…"  
>"E-even…even Harry…?"<p>

I paused, touched by the fact that even in his state of pain and agony, he still wanted me…But, things were going to change after he wakes up upon drinking the potion…would he still want me then?

"Well…that's if you still want me when you wake up, Dray…"  
>"Of course Draco w-want Harry!"<br>"You see…things aren't as easy as you think. We all know that you're not supposed to be three years old. This potion will not only heal you, but also bring you back to your original age. And I have to tell you, Draco, at your normal age, you and I weren't really on close terms…"  
>"DRACO DON'T CARE! DRACO WON'T DRINK POTION UNLESS HARRY PROMISES TO BE WITH DRACO FOREVER!"<p>

The nurses around us looked terribly stunned. Either they were in shock or in awe at what the young Malfoy said. Everyone knew Draco and I despised each other, at least, that's how it appeared to be on the outside when we were both teenagers. No one knew about my secret crush on him. But that didn't matter…I need to get Draco to drink the potion now before it's too late!

"Okay…Okay…I promise to be with you, Draco. But that's only if you remind me after you wake up, okay? You know I have a bad memory, don't you, Dray? You have to remind me…when you wake up…deal?"  
>"D-deal…"<br>"And…if it's possible…Remind me about all the good times we had…from the first day I found you at King's Cross till now. I'd really like to remember that. Can you do that for me?"

Draco looked confused for a moment, but struggled to give me a feeble nod and smile. He lifted his arms up to me again, and I hugged him…never wanting to let go…but I knew I had to…The day he wakes up after he drinks the potion…everything's going to change…who knows, we might never speak to each other again.

Then Draco drew back and opened his mouth. He was ready for the potion, but I wasn't. I waited for Madam Pomfrey to feed him, but instead, she handed me the potion, telling me it's best that I was the one doing it. I nodded and fed Draco with his life-saver. I closed my eyes, desperately trying to convince myself that this was just the same apple juice that Snape was giving him that day. It's not an ageing potion…Draco will recover but he will still stay this age! He will! He will! He will…

No…he won't…

I looked at him with tears streaming down my eyes. Draco had consumed the potion to the very last drop, just as he had promised me he would. "Don't cry, Harry…" He smiled, voice fading. I forced a smile, "Anything you say, Dray…"

With that, Draco was overcome with drowsiness and he fell asleep. The nurses got up and prepared to finish their work with their now sedated patient.

I got up and slowly left the bedside, the image of Draco's weak little body fading away. Goodbye for now, my baby Draco. Promise me, you'll live through this…

_"Don't worry anymore, okay, Harry? Draco will be safe as long as Harry is here! Draco will drink potion if Harry wants, but if Harry don't want Draco to drink, then Draco won't drink!"_

Thank you for being so understanding, Draco…I'm sorry I didn't protect you when I should have…I hope you can forgive me for letting bad things happen to you…I'm glad you were willing to listen to me and drank the potion…Thank you for keeping your word and making life easier for both of us…I just hope…all these memories won't be forgotten…

Maybe you won't remember, but I know I will…

The last promise you made to me was to remind me to be with you forever and retell our story to me. Heh…if you actually keep THIS promise, I'd be the happiest boy on earth… But I can't blame you if you don't remember…

I just hope you knew…

All this time…

I really…

Truly…

Deeply…

Loved you…

…I love you, Draco Malfoy…I really do…

So please…live...

…live for me…

Author's Note: Whoa wasn't that a long chapter? Hope you guys liked it! I shall begin working on the next chapter when I can. Stay tuned~ R&R!


	28. Chapter 28: What Are Friends For?

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the totally awesome reviews! Hell, personally, I loved writing that previous chapter a lot, so I'm glad you guys enjoyed reading it :D Oh and for those of you who PM-ed or reviewed me regarding guesses on what country I'm from, I'm sorry but you guys are wrongggggg…Told you guys it wasn't that easy =P okay anyway, here's chapter 28, remember to R&R okay? By the way, sorry if this chapter sucks…I was just told that my favorite driver will be resigning in three days. I know it sounds lame to get depressed over a mere driver but well, he was a really nice and friendly young guy in his early twenties who talked to me every day whenever he sent me to and from school, waking me up from my drowsy mood, listening to my stupid rants, sharing his amusing experiences with me and listening to mine, and basically he's become a pretty awesome friend over the past 2 years. He mentioned changing jobs before, but apparently failed lol. I'm kinda surprised he didn't even drop me any hint of his official departure this time. So…idk I'm in a lousy mood right now and pretty much incapable of producing a good chapter, but I'm trying! So bear with me, okay? ^^ Please review anyways…^^

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 28<span>  
><span>What Are Friends For?<span>

Soon, the moment was over and I found myself stepping out of the infirmary with Ron and Hermione at my side, comforting me, telling me it's okay and that Draco was going to live. I wanted to reassure them that I was fine, but at that point of time, I really couldn't bring myself to utter a word. Draco was going to be in the infirmary for a while and not with me anymore…how was I supposed to live on without him…? I didn't even realize that there were tears still falling from my eyes. All I could tell myself was… "Yup, you should have seen this one coming, Harry Potter."

Snape walked towards me and sighed, "I think it's time you get some rest, Potter. Just take the rest of the day off, go to bed and stop thinking about things you know you shouldn't. Classes still go on tomorrow, don't forget that. I'll see you in the morning…"

I nodded in response. With that, Snape left the scene. I knew he wasn't taking it too well either, Draco was his favorite student, and seeing him in that state in the infirmary must have felt terrible. I turned to face my two best friends; I doubt they felt any better. Both had gotten pretty close to little Draco as well, and I knew it was hard on them to decide that he should return to his normal age too. Come to think about it, Draco's presence with us, ALL of us, had changed a lot. No doubt about it, we were all going to miss the young Slytherin prancing about the corridors of Hogwarts, greeting people he didn't know, waving at students from afar…just being himself; young, happy little Draco.

"Come on," Hermione whispered, patting me on the shoulder. "Let's get you to the common room…" Once again, I remained silent, but responded with a slow nod. Ron and Hermione tried their best to smile consolingly at me and we turned to leave. As we took solemn, heavy footsteps, I stole a final glance at the huge brown doors of the infirmary. _Draco, baby…I'll really miss you…_

~*~*~* THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM ~*~*~*

"Hey, we'll be leaving now, okay, Harry? We've still got classes to attend."  
>"Just don't do anything stupid, mate. We'll be back in no time."<p>

Just like before, I nodded and waved them off. Upon hearing the door close, I slumped against my pillow and pulled the covers high up, with waves of thought raging through my pounding head. Slowly, I brought the covers down again and looked to my right. It was empty, as empty as my heart was. It felt as if a huge chunk of me was torn apart, ripped away from my body, never to return again, thus leaving me empty forever. My eyes began to water again. Not too long ago, looking to my right on the bed would result in me seeing an adorable little blonde, nuzzling into my side. He would smile at me, wishing me to cuddle him to bed, and I would willingly oblige.

I placed my hand on the empty spot next to me and stroked the bed sheet there; that spot would always be reserved for my Draco whether he ever steps foot in this room again or not. Wait, not my Draco anymore…Draco…Just Draco… I literally slapped myself. Wake up, Harry. He's never coming back to you. Ever.

…

The door creaked open and I was awoken by light shining into my face. I saw Ron entering and smiled when he greeted me. That's when I remembered I probably cried myself to sleep in attempt to stop thinking about Draco. Bummer, apparently it didn't work. I looked at the clock, realizing I had only slept for half an hour. Why was Ron here? Classes weren't over yet.

"Hey mate, how you doing? Didn't mean to wake you, don't kill me!" Ron lifted his hands up in defense. I stared at him, damn, my best friend was weird. He placed a cup of coffee on the table and sat on his bed. With a look of reminisce on his face, he glanced at the coffee and said, "You know I was never a morning person either. I used to be such a pig. Once, I tried feigning illness so that I wouldn't have to get up to go to school. You know what my mom did? I thought she'd go 'oh my poor baby' or some creepy motherly phrases like that, and tell me to get lots of rest. But what did I get? Bloody hell, the mental woman poured coffee all over me, telling me to cut the crap and get my ass to school. Then she turned to leave, but suddenly twirled around, pointing at the coffee on my bed and shouting "Now look what you've done" and ordering me to make more coffee for her. That bitch!"

I blinked a few times, then suddenly broke the awkward silence by letting myself become overwhelmed with laughter, shocking Ron in the process. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't know my best friend enjoyed hearing about other people's misery. Come on…My mom WAS being a bitch!" He crossed his hands. "I know, I know," I chuckled. "Poor, poor, baby Ron. Care for some coffee, my dear?" I laughed, grabbing the cup of coffee on the table. "Oh no, Harry, don't you dare!" Ron stood up, backing away.  
>"You come near me with that cup of coffee and I swear on Snape's grave I'll never let you off!"<br>"What the hell, Ron. You KNOW nobody gives a shit about Snape's grave."  
>"I know, that's why I swore on his grave instead of anyone else's. DUH."<p>

We both snorted, trying our best to keep our mouths shut, but eventually, we failed and burst out in retarded laughter. The mood had definitely been lifted, thanks to Ron. That's when I accidentally spilt the hot coffee onto Ron's pants. Oops.

"BLIMEY! FUCK IT ALL! Harry freaking Potter you are fucking insane! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO POUR IT THERE OF ALL PLACES?" Ron cried, jumping about in a frenzy. "Geez, Ron, why are you making a fuss over- Oh…I spilt it down THERE?" I lowered my voice upon realizing where the coffee landed. "Sorry, mate." Ron gritted his teeth in agony, but he looked funny anyways. "It's okay, I guess I'll go get changed!" He exclaimed, running off, gripping the front of his pants. Ever since then, I swore to keep my manhood away from hot coffee.

Within seconds, he came back with Hermione. "I can't believe it didn't even occur to you that you could just use a spell to get rid of the stain, Ron." "Trust me, Hermione, if you were in my position and your dick hurt like hell, it wouldn't occur to you either." "Apparently I DO NOT have a dick and- oh, hello Harry!"

I grinned at my bickering best friends. I shook my head, "you guys…I can already hear the church bells ringing…" The two became red in the face and began stuttering some incomprehensible syllables. Finally Hermione attempted to change the subject, "glad to see you feeling better, Harry. It's about time you started speaking again." I brought my head down, "It's only been about half an hour, guys. I'm pretty surprised that I started talking too, I was feeling like shit just moments ago. But Ron and his coffee-stained friend down there interfered and…let's just say I feel tons better. And you coming to see me makes me feel loads better too. Which reminds me, what the hell are you guys doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Well, it was Snape's class again so we decided 'screw Snape's class' and left the room while he was still teaching. Oh then Hermione went to pee."  
>"But I got here anyway. I reckon it makes more sense to visit my emotionally unstable friend rather than waste time in another lesson of potions class."<br>"Wow, never thought I'd ever hear those words escape your lips, Hermione."  
>"Me neither."<p>

With that, my two best friends sat down on my bed with an arm around me each. I noticed they still left Draco's spot empty, as if pretending along with me that he was still sitting there, possibly clapping his hands in joy seeing as his guardian was happy again. I smiled. I was glad to have these two retards as my friends. Without them, I don't know what the crap I'd do. But whatever, I have them here right now and they're my source of inspiration; my family. And maybe…just maybe…Draco would come back into my life to complete the picture.

Author's Note: There you go! Somewhat short chapter... I hope the story is still making sense somewhat Dx Review review review~


	29. Chapter 29: Remembering  You

Author's Note: Oh noooo my one week break is over! Back to school tomorrow, damn…Haha well before THAT happens…here's one quick chapter. Sorry the previous chapter had no Draco! Don't worry, our Slytherin ice prince shall return at the later part of the chapter! It's only a brief moment though... Hope you guys like this chapter anyway! And I noticed more people favoriting this story and stuff, that's totally awesome~ But could you guys review too? Thanks :]

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 29<span>  
><span>Remembering You<span>

I spent the rest of the day spending quality time with my best friends. Honestly, we haven't had such meaningful conversations in quite a while. I kinda missed those days where we would sit around and talk about crap and mock each other's lameass experiences. It's things like these that prevent me from going into a pit of despair worrying about Draco. Shit, I'm thinking about it again…

I heaved a sudden sigh, causing my friends to stop laughing about the previous topic. "Harry, you're not thinking about…" "It's alright, I'll be fine."

"Harry!" I heard several muffled voices outside my door. I was fairly puzzled by this and shot a look at the two, wondering if they had any idea about the reason behind the shouting outside. Ron shrugged with a grin and opened the door. Without warning, a whole bunch of Gryffindors flooded into my room. Everywhere, I could hear familiar happy voices going "Cheer up, Harry!" and "Everything's gonna be okay!" and whatnot. A smile formed on my lips as I took in the comforting sight of all my Gryffindor friends trying to make me feel better. Fred and George squeezed through the crowd.

"Hey, mate!"  
>"You better cheer the fuck up!"<br>"Or else-"  
>"Fred and I-"<br>"Are gonna-"  
>"POUR COFFEE DOWN YOUR PANTS!"<p>

The crowd burst into mocking laughter while Ron slapped his forehead and shrank under the sea of heads in embarrassment. God, what is with the coffee down the pants thing? Hmm, must be a Weasley thing…

"Guys, guys, seriously, I don't know how to thank you all for this. I really feel a lot better knowing that you're all here for me," I flashed a broad grin. Never had I felt so cared about all my life. When I first stepped into Hogwarts, I remember Professor McGonnagall telling us, first years, that our house would be like our family. I smiled, recalling those words. She was indeed right.

Just then, Ginny and Parvati inched their way towards me, holding a book in their hands. "And what's that supposed to be?" I raised an eyebrow, pointing at the book. The two smiled sheepishly and placed the book in my hands. It was a velvety green book with silver and gold strips diagonally cutting across the first page. There was a strange magical aura surrounding it, I couldn't quite make head nor tail of it, but it filled me with some form of hope and…happiness, was it?

I flipped the page and immediately my eyes lit up. Who knows, maybe they were even sparkling… The group around me huddled closer to see the contents of the book. To my delight, it was no ordinary book, but a book…full of Draco.

I browsed through the book to find loads of little Draco pictures and random words among them. "Nonono! Don't just skim! You have to really look at it page by page!"  
>"Yeah Harry!"<br>"Come on, Harry!"  
>"Okay I know I know! I was just too excited!" I exclaimed, flipping back to the first page, which displayed a moving picture of Draco waving and eating an ice-cream at the same time. Below it was a badly written "Hello Harry! Draco love u!" It was Draco's handwriting.<p>

I touched the photograph, finding myself giggling at the sight of little Draco waving at me as I stroked picture Draco's cheek. This was just the beginning of reliving good old memories. Flipping through the pages after the first, I saw more pictures. There was one of Neville feeding Draco with a cookie, Hermione sharing a book with Draco, Dean playing soccer with Draco, Ron teaching Draco how to swear…? My face twisted for a moment, letting out an awkward laugh at the captions written on that page. As picture Ron moved, a speech bubble appeared on the page going "fuck your balls, Snape!" and Draco's speech bubble read "fwuck yo bowls, Snape!" It was then that I noticed picture Snape standing in the darkness with a look of horror written all over his wrinkled face. The Gryffindors started laughing at that image as Ron went, "ah I remember that…I got 50 points taken away for doing that…"

Then I came across several familiar pictures as well.

"Ah yes, Seamus with the rosebush for a head, who could forget that?" I smirked, pointing at the oh so familiar photograph. Seamus found himself shaking his head and chuckling at the mere memory of that. The next couple of pictures were from the same day, where Draco went about playing with girls' hair, watching the guys play poker, making a card tower with Ron, Hermione and I, playing Pin The Big Nose On Snape with everyone, pigging out at the snack corner...The memories from that day were just priceless!

Then I saw a few pictures of me walking down the corridors with Draco scampering about by my side, some with me cradling him in my arms, some with me giving him piggyback rides, some with me and him building a snowman, some with me feeding him…basically full of Draco and I. Strange, I don't remember having these pictures taken.

"Hey, who's the smartass who took these pictures anyway?" I laughed waving the book in the air. Collin owned up, but soon admitted that everyone else took different shifts in taking the sneakshots. Damn, how could I have not noticed them… But I was pretty glad I didn't. If I did, this surprise wouldn't be as surprising as it should. Then it hit me.

"Hold the phone, how come I didn't even know about these pictures? When did these happen anyway? Sure I remember the party night, but the random things like the swearing picture and the reading picture and all those…I don't recall seeing those happen," I remarked. There came a series of muffled laughter from the crowd. I paused and came to the conclusion that these didn't actually happen, my friends were just trying to use this to comfort me.

"Ah…you guys, you didn't have to use magic to come up with these false memory pictures that never really happened. I know you're just trying to make me feel better by showing me images of Draco having fun with us. I appreciate your effort a lot, I really do. But…knowing that these are false memories doesn't really help."  
>"What the crap, Harry? These were real events!"<br>"Yeah, we just took them while you were gone!"

That was when I remembered our initial plans of rotating shifts to take care of Draco at the beginning of the year. Aha, they must have taken those pictures when it was their shift…Shit, I've misunderstood them! I apologized immediately while they were all over me going "it's okay" and all that talk.

"Actually," Ron started. "You should really thank my sister and Parvati. They were the ones who came up with the idea of making this book."

Upon hearing what my best friend said, I scanned the crowd again for said two and found them giggling in a corner. I got up from my bed and walked towards them with the book in my hand.

"Thank you, Ginny and Parvati. But why?" I asked.  
>"Isn't it obvious?" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Since the day you brought him in, all of us began getting attached to Draco. As the days went by, we realized that we would really miss him the day he…well…goes back to normal…" Her voice got softer and I thought I saw her eyes water for a moment. Parvati then took over the speech, "So we decided that we make this little scrapbook thing so that we'll remember all the good times we had with the little cutie. To help us relive these memories, Ginny and I decided to take lots of pictures with him while we still could, and eventually combined them to form this! Draco's not gone, Harry. He's here too, so don't forget that. Any time you feel like it, just open up this book and it'll make you feel better. At least, we hope so…"<p>

I noticed how all the Gryffindors' faces fell upon remembering that Draco was gone. Even the hyper twins had a solemn look on their faces. Ginny spoke up again, "don't just thank us though. Thank everyone here, we all did it for you TOGETHER. So you better…you better..."

"I know, I appreciate what you guys did for me, all of you. You guys are totally awesome. Hell, I never would have thought of an idea like this. Thank you…so much…" I said, as my vision blurred. I knew it, I was going to cry again. Sincerely, I was touched by what my house did for me. I was aware the whole time that Draco's um…transformation…was going to change our lives. Even though those happy moments were short lived, I was glad that my friends made an effort to make it memorable…I glanced at the book again before closing it. Haha…memorable…in a way I didn't even suspect…

The crowd of Gryffindors tried their best to smile while Ron and Hermione went to stand by my side, offering support if I needed it. Then Fred and George, who could take the awkward silence no longer, stomped their feet on the ground in unison until all eyes were on them.

"What do you think you guys are doing huh?"  
>"All these tears and sadness…"<br>"We were here to make Harry happy!"  
>"And what did we do?"<br>"We made the poor fool cry."  
>"So let's start over, shall we?"<p>

Unexpectedly, on the twins' call, the crowd retreated out of the room again. Ron, Hermione and I remained standing there, bewildered and confused. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Um, come in?" I said curiously.

Then just like before, the whole crowd of Gryffindors dashed in with bright and cheery smiles on their faces, once again going "cheer up, Harry" and "it's okay, Harry". I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of this. Wow, this is the extent my housemates would go to in order to make me feel better. Hell, I'm a lucky boy. "Shit!" Neville cried. "We forgot to take the scrapbook in with us!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….." Came the groans of the Gryffindors. "Come on, let's do it ALL over again, and give us the book Harry. You have no recollection whatsoever of this book alright?" George instructed.

"I don't?"  
>"Yes, you don't. Once we walk out of this room, you will remember nothing of this book until we present it to you again."<br>"Haha it's okay, you guys don't have to do this just for me…"  
>"Shut up, Harry! Just let us do our thing, we've been preparing this!"<br>"Fine fine!"

I lifted my hands in exasperation, laughing along with Hermione and Ron as we watched the crowd of red disappear once more, anticipating the next knock on the door. Ah, what would I do without these guys…

~*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

"W-Where am I?"  
>"You're safe, Draco."<p>

Draco's barely opened eyes scanned the room around him. Yup, he was in the infirmary, and Snape was at his bedside. Draco struggled to get up, but felt a searing pain in his stomach and laid back down immediately. "What happened to me…?"

Snape sighed, "Tell me, Draco. Do you remember anything?"

Draco winced as he placed his hands over a painful area on his stomach. Staring at the pale colored ceiling, he began thinking…or at least it looked as if he was trying to. After a few seconds, he shook his head weakly, no. The potions master didn't know what to feel at the moment. A part of him was glad he was back to normal, but the other part wanted Draco to remember the recent happy times. _It would have been a good way to recreate your broken childhood, Draco…_

"So what happened to me?" Draco tried to ask again. Snape shrugged and tried to return to his cold self, "You're in the infirmary. People don't just go to the infirmary for fun, you were obviously hurt."

"By who? And who brought me here?"

There was an eerie silence as Snape stared long and hard at his favorite student. He decided to stand up and leave, without answering Draco's question.

"You just underwent a major operation, Mr. Malfoy. I suggest you get some rest and don't aggravate your injured stomach."

With that, the door closed, and Draco was all alone in the infirmary once more. He sighed, not liking the fact that he was being ignored. He didn't like being alone. He didn't like not having some form of attention, especially when he was confused like hell. After a final glance at the door in hope that someone else would enter, the Malfoy heir fell back into a disturbed slumber. Just as he did, a small tear trickled down his cheek.

Author's Note: Oh yeahhhh checkk out this pic if you miss Harry and little Draco ^^  
>.com?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=harry+loves+little+draco#/d45j19q


	30. Chapter 30: Series of Unexpected News

Author's Note: Hey guys, once again, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming please~ Well, looks like now that the long awaited chapter of Draco returning to his teenage form has already arrived, I kinda miss writing about little Draco…D: Any of you feel that way? Haha anyway, here's chapter 30 of Acceptance. Enjoy! R&R!

Acceptance  
>Chapter 30<br>Series of Unexpected News

The next day during potions class, Snape appeared to be in a bad mood and gave everyone detentions for coming into class later than him. We couldn't quite figure out why he was acting this way though. Not like he had always been the perfect image of a teacher…but still. "A couple of announcements I have to make before we begin; one is that detention will be in my classroom after school. Secondly, I would like to inform those of you who care that Draco Malfoy of the Slytherin house has returned to his former age and is currently still residing in the infirmary. Paying him a friendly visit would be nice. The poor kid's confused as hell. Thirdly…"

There were several hushed discussions going on among the students. I heard a few "nooo" and "it's about time" and other stuff along those lines regarding Draco's transformation. I, on the other hand, chose to remain silent, unsure of which side I was going along with. But I knew for sure that I wanted to see Draco. However, I was still nervous…What was I supposed to say to him? In his original memory, he hadn't seen me since the end of the year last year. It's understood if a couple of Slytherins visited him, but if his most hated rival showed up by his bedside in the infirmary, what the crap would he think?

"Silence!" Snape roared. Immediately, the chatter died down. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who hadn't paid attention to the third announcement, but thankfully Snape was going to repeat it.

"Third announcement is that the dark lord might infiltrate Hogwarts at any time so beware. Now, turn to page 265 of your textbooks…"

The last announcement left all the students stunned, and shocked as to how Snape said it so calmly. But just like that, the lesson went on without further questions. I realized I was probably the only student who knew about Voldemort's potential infiltration beforehand because of the incident with Lucius Malfoy. But Draco knew too, he was there! Thing is, does he remember…? I doubt… And I doubt even more that he remembers that he's the reason that damn bald thing is coming. I was worried, worried for him. The moment he gets discharged, Dumbledore would probably pull him out for some serious training… He's so frail now, how could he possibly…

Little did I know, my prediction came earlier than expected…

~*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

"Headmaster Dumbledore? What are you doing here?"  
>"Hello, Draco. Nothing, just dropped by for a visit, I suppose you had many visitors already, no time for an old coot like me, eh?"<br>"Um.." Draco lowered his head. "Actually, only Professor Snape was here," he said with a tinge of hurtfulness in his tone. The old headmaster, who was expecting a cocky response like 'you know it, you old fuck," was surprised to hear that the Slytherin ice prince didn't even get any visitors from his own house. He felt sorry for the boy. Then he randomly asked as casually as possible, "not even Harry?"

"Ha…Harry?" Draco repeated, face filled with an unordinary expression. "Oh…"  
>Dumbledore waited eagerly for his response, whatever it may be. Sadly, it turned out to be,<br>"Oh, you mean Potter. Why would P-Potter…come see someone like me? He hates me…"

At this, what seemed to be a flicker of hope disappeared from Dumbledore's face; yes, it looks like he had forgotten. Everything was wiped clean away from his memory.

"Um, that aside, sir. Why are you here? I know it's not just to pay me a friendly visit," the young Malfoy questioned, the sharp look reappearing in his eyes. Now that Dumbledore was fairly certain the boy remembered absolutely nothing, he broke the news to him.

"You see, Draco, Voldemort is planning to come into the castle for revenge."  
>"Against you, sir?"<br>"That was the initial plot, I believe, as told by your own father. But now, rumor has it that he is here this time…to kill YOU."  
>"But why? What the fuck did I do?"<p>

Draco's eyes widened in fear and shot up in his bed. Once again, the pain hit him, but he resisted it and remained seated upright, wanting to hear more of what the old man was going to say. Then Dumbledore told him the long story, which by right he shouldn't have had to if Draco maintained his recent memories as a three year old from that day in his office. Apparently, things weren't that simple. But something stumped Dumbledore. Afraid, yes he could tell Draco was afraid. Shocked, yes he was somewhat shocked, but not as shocked as he should have been upon hearing news as drastic as that. Curious…How very curious… But now was not the time for that.

"Draco, I understand you're in a fragile condition-"  
>"I'm not fragile!"<br>"Okay…but you're not exactly in the fittest of states. However, you must understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. As of today, every student is required to take Defence Against the Dark Arts class. We need to be prepared for the arrival of Voldemort and his deatheaters."  
>"So…I have to fight too, right?"<br>"Yes. You need the most training in particular, not because you're weak, but because the dark lord's target is you. Of course, the whole school is going to defend Hogwarts because it is our school after all. Even though Voldemort's only aiming for you, I can guarantee that he will wipe out every being standing in his way, which puts lots of lives at stake. So, Draco, please don't let everyone's effort go to waste. I am more than certain that Voldemort WILL reach you eventually, so it's up to you to take him down and end this once and for all."  
>"Isn't Potter supposed to be the one facing all the save the world stuff? Now he's dragging ME into this?"<br>"Why so eager to pull Potter into your mission?"  
>"I never said-"<br>"Fear not, Harry will be joining you. Both of you shall take Voldemort down together."

Dumbledore once again had expected some sort of protest against cooperating with his rival, but Draco merely nodded and asked, "when will I be starting my training, sir?" Dumbledore pondered for a moment, unsure of when Draco's operation wound would recover thoroughly. But he decided that there was no time to let it fully heal, he would have to be ready soon. Too soon.

"Hmm, I suggest we start tomorrow if you're feeling up to it. If not, the latest we can wait is the day after that."  
>"Okay, sir. I'll be there."<br>"You are really brave, Draco. But please, stop calling me 'sir', it's too polite for you, I'm not used to it."  
>"Okay, you old coot."<br>"That's better."

I began observing the bewildered looks on the faces of my classmates. Once again, we received another sudden heart attack; we were just informed that extra DADA classes were mandatory as of today. Just like before, I was the only one mentally prepared for this. But if I recalled correctly, I was supposed to have separate training with Dumbledore and Draco… Speaking of Draco, I really felt like seeing him. I was constantly reminding myself throughout the day that when I entered the infirmary, it wouldn't be the same Draco I've been seeing for months. But it's still him…still Draco Malfoy…still the boy I love…so much…And I MUST see him today.

I glanced at the clock hovering near the ceiling, Defense Against the Dark Arts would begin in about fifteen minutes and there would be a five minute interval between classes. I made up my mind; I was going to see Draco within that five minutes. Just five minutes…I hope that wasn't too much to ask…and hopefully, he wouldn't chase me away…


	31. Chapter 31: You and I

Author's Note: Thank you once again my totally awesome reviewers :D for some of you worried about the outcome of the story, I'll TRYYYY not to make it too fluffy ;x and about Draco chasing Harry away…here's your answer! Just read this chappy to find out~ And my SAT is coming up in November so…I guess I might take longer to update unless you guys are really bent on rushing me xD nono really, the pressure might spur me to update. Oh and my birthday just passed awhile ago, OCTOBER 17! It was a fun celebration~ Anyway, here's chapter 31 of Acceptance~ R&R as usual please

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 31<span>  
><span>You and I<span>

Draco stretched his arm as far is it could go. He needed water, he was dying of thirst and what made it worse was that the glass of water was just a few centimeters away from him on the desk next to the bed…taunting him because he couldn't even reach something so near. The irritated Slytherin, annoyed with his own incompetency, imagined the look of disgust on his father's face should he see him in this condition; "Malfoy's are never weak. You disgrace our family." He would have spat in his son's face. Draco didn't want that. So, he made an attempt to roll over on his side to bring himself somewhat closer to the edge of the bed. "Almost there…" he muttered. But damn, this was harder than he thought. He was beginning to feel the strain on his stomach. Determined not to pull back, he finally clasped one hand around the glass. The Malfoy heir grinned at his achievement, but too soon. He let out a groan as his stomach began to feel terribly strained. He released the glass of water onto the ground, breaking it.

I happened to push open the door just at that time. "Draco!" I cried, running towards him. I avoided the glass particles and spilt water on the ground and gently attempted to lay the poor boy on his back again. Draco's panting had died down, but every few seconds he would let out a groan. His eyes remained shut the whole time, making me wonder if he realized it was me here with him. Did I want him to know it was me…?

I was lost in thought again. I hadn't seen Draco for what seemed like eternity, but now that I did, it felt somewhat different. I was battling the urge to pick him up and hug him. This boy who was once my little baby Draco, was now a grown teenager in my grade. Somehow I still felt that I had a responsibility to upkeep for him, especially now that he was in a weakened state. Then again, the Malfoy I remembered from the past never looked like a fit and healthy person. He always looked so pale and undernourished. What the hell were his parents feeding him at home… The memory of my little Draco being fed with countless delicacies when he was in the care of us, Gryffindors, pushed its way into my chain of thought. Damn, we were way better guardians than his parents were. At least he was given sufficient food when he was with us! Actually…maybe TOO much food haha… His tummy would always feel a hell lot rounder after eating. It was freaking adorable and everyone would start tickling him there…

Now, looking at the Draco in front of me in pain, I felt the urge to rub his painful tummy like I used to. I wanted to tell him "It's okay, the pain will go away," just like I did before. I wanted to cradle him in my arms like before, keeping him safe, giving him comfort…

"Har-Potter…What you doing here?" I heard Draco's voice. Although his eyes were barely open, I could see the silver irises fixing a steady gaze on me. We hadn't made eye contact for quite a while. It felt kinda awkward…Nevertheless, I was determined to try lightening up the mood. But I was still damn curious whether he remembered anything or not.

"I…um…just wanted to see how you're doing, Dray." I stammered. Draco tilted his head and looked at me in what seemed to be confusion. Well, I guess you wouldn't expect your worst enemy of all people to visit you…

"Oh…okay. Thanks…H-Harry."  
>"Well it's no big deal, really- wait, what did you just call me?"<br>"Um…I called you Har- Never mind, I'm just confused as hell. Just…leave me the fuck alone, Potter."

"NO!" I flared up, jamming my hand into the mattress, stunning the Slytherin. He called me Harry! I knew it! He must have remembered what happened during his three year old period! Why else would he not call me Potter all of a sudden? It would be extremely unlike teenage Draco Malfoy to call me that UNLESS-

"Tell me, Draco. You remember, don't you? You remember!" I yelled, grabbing his shoulders. Draco jerked backwards, "Remember what? You're retarded, Potter, don't touch me." Unsatisfied with his response, I began shaking him violently. No! He has to remember! He has to!

"You called me HARRY! The Draco Malfoy I used to know would never, under any circumstances, call me that. But your three year old self would! You did! You used to call me Harry! Don't you remember, Dray? I was there with you, taking care of you, playing with you, bathing you, cleaning you, feeding you… Every day you would follow me to class and we were together for a hell long time until Snape created the de-ageing potion that turned you back to normal. Remember all that? The…the…the Gryffindor common room…the parties…playing in the snow…you…don't you…"

I stopped abruptly, lips trembling. My hands kept a firm grip on Draco's quivering shoulders, his eyes were now watery and he was scared. He looked traumatized in fact. Something at the back of my mind told me that he remembered. Now if he would only confirm that with me…

"I…" Draco muttered. I awaited intensely.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Potter."

At that moment, all form of hope I had vanished in the blink of an eye. My heart was breaking…cracking…falling apart…was what he said really true?

"Look, the only reason I didn't chase you out immediately was because unlike what most people think, I barely had visitors. It would do me some good to have one more visitor each time so my image isn't ruined and I know that I haven't been forgotten by everyone."

_Is that truly how you feel…?_

"I…I don't know why I called you by your first name…Just don't get used to it…"

_No, there has to be a reason…_

"And…and…stop trying to put stupid memories into my mind…I obviously don't remember any of that because here's a newsflash for you, Potter; IT NEVER HAPPENED!"

Draco looked as if he was about to go insane. But why…? If he was telling the truth, why wasn't he firm and confident in his speech like how he used to be? But if he was lying and he really DID remember…why was he denying it?

Once again, my irrational tendency to space out led me to shriek when Draco hurled a pillow at me unexpectedly.

"Get out, Potter…Quit messing with my head…"  
>"Draco…please don't do this…"<br>"I'm going to say this again VERY nicely. I don't remember a single piece of bullshit about what you said earlier, so kindly leave the infirmary. I need some rest. I think…you shouldn't come visit me again. Just don't talk to me, stay away from me, get as far away from me as possible. You don't need to stick around with me any longer. Just…leave, Potter…Go away…Get out of my life!"

That did it. He dropped the bombshell on me. My heart had died upon every stab his words gave me. He didn't want me around him…He obviously doesn't remember, I guess…But he's changed somehow…He's somewhat nicer…But still…why is he…

I was confused as hell. I didn't know what to think or feel anymore. All I knew was that the only boy I ever loved and cared so much about, whom I had protected for the past few months, who clung on to me lovingly during that short lived period…the boy I loved to death…was in a sense rejecting me, rejecting the mere memory of me. Yes, it tore me apart…but if it was what he wanted…

"Okay, Draco. I'll go…Um, take care of yourself, okay? Don't…do anything stupid…and…remember to get lots of rest and…"

Draco stared at me with a weird expression on his face; one I couldn't decode.

"And…well…" I sighed, realizing I didn't have the right to keep going on and on about something I wouldn't have cared about in the past. "Good…Goodbye, Draco…"

With that, I turned and left. I loved Draco Malfoy…so much…But…heh, you know, when you love someone, you'd want him to be happy. If I was doing him a favor by staying out of his life, then…I'm glad I did it…

What I missed though, was that the moment the doors of the infirmary closed behind me, the Malfoy heir had unconsciously muttered the words:

_It's for your own good…_


	32. Chapter 32: Training

Author's Note: YO PEOPLE! Thanks for the birthday wishes and also for reviewing, yeah you keep doing that and I'll be a happy author xD Hmm…I bet most of you are trying to piece together bits of information thrown about in the story to figure out what hidden message the previous chapter conceived lol. Then again, maybe you already figured it out haha. Well, I guess I should just shut up and get on with the story eh? Enjoy chapter 32 of Acceptance~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 32<span>  
><span>Training<span>

I stopped abruptly in my tracks. Glancing at my watch, I saw that I had only one minute to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Apparently visiting Draco didn't go as well as I hoped it to be, in fact, it was a downright disaster. Hell, it seemed as if none of the de-ageing days existed anymore. He didn't remember a thing and we were back to being enemies. At least, that's probably what he thought. I guess he'd never know that my love for him wouldn't lose its spark just yet. And it was because of this that my heart was aching.

"_Just…leave, Potter…"_

I was going to tell my friends about what happened during class. They were probably wondering where I took off to anyway.

"_Go away…"_

I felt terrible, hearing him say those words to me. Where were the days where he would hug me whenever he saw me? Where were the days that we had random parties together? Where were the days that we sat in the common room and had lively conversations with everyone? Where were the days where we shared the same bed and cuddled each other to sleep? Where were the days that I knew you'd be there for me? Where were the days that you told me you loved me…?

"_Get out of my life!"_

Gone. That's where they were; gone… But those memories would continue to live within me. Draco…looks like you failed to keep your last promise to me…And I can't blame you for that either…

"Harry, there you are, I've been waiting," came the voice of the elderly headmaster. I twisted my head to the side and noticed him standing in a corner, beckoning me to follow him. I suppose my individual training would be beginning soon. "Coming, sir," I replied, running towards him. As we walked, Dumbledore constantly gave me a knowing glance, I just smiled nervously when he did. It was kinda creepy actually. It's that feeling that you're walking down a dark alleyway with an old pervert by your side, waiting for the right chance to rape you. Ugh.

Finally, we reached the room of requirement. Everyone else was already inside, listening to Snape's quick lecture before beginning actual sparring trials. Now everyone knew about this room. I could tell that this was something big, something serious, something Hogwarts needed to be really prepared for. I was afraid too, afraid for the countless lives I knew we would lose. But now, all I can do is begin my training as well. The more people prepared, the higher the chances are of destroying Voldemort…and…keeping Draco safe…

"Come, Harry. Let us proceed to our area of the room."  
>"Aren't I practicing here too, sir?"<br>"No. Tell me Harry, you know there are cases of dreams within dreams and secrets within secrets and such baloney, don't you?"  
>"Err…this IS a magic school after all…so yeah?"<br>"Good. Then I'll have you know that there is another secret room within this room."

My eyes opened wide, scanning the room for any possible sign of another hidden room, but to no avail. With that, Dumbledore pulled me aside and tapped on a wall. There was a sudden slight vibration as the wall faded away right before my eyes, revealing another room similar to the one we were in. "Wow…"

The headmaster gently pushed me in. And just like that, the image of the wall faded back into position and we were alone. I looked around; yup, just another wide, spacious, empty, grey, sad looking room.

"Alright, Harry. Are you ready?"  
>"Sure…?" I muttered with uncertainty.<p>

How was I supposed to know if I was ready or not? Nobody really mentioned what kind of lessons I was going to have. All I knew was that my life, as well as Draco's , would be put on the line, and we had to be extremely prepared for this. Dumbledore smirked and pulled out his wand, telling me to do the same. Hmm…I sense some serious training coming up…

~*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

Sparks of color were zipping and zapping around the Room of Requirement. It had only been a few minutes and Snape had already begun the hands-on part of the lesson. There was a target deatheater dummy that hovered around while students had to hit it with any attacking spell. The aim for today's lesson, according to Snape, was simply learning how to keep a disarmed deatheater at bay. But it didn't stop there. Every day the lessons would get harder and definitely much more challenging.

Day 1: Disarming, tackle disarmed Deatheater dummy  
>Day 2: Attack an armed Deatheater Dummy<br>Day 3: Attack multiple armed Deatheater Dummies  
>Day 4: Official simulation<p>

Everyday Hogwarts students were to review the previous day's lesson and after day four, every other day they would have to engage in simulations against Voldemort's army of dummy deatheaters. It was going to get serious and students COULD get hurt during the simulations. But it would be worth it. Every step took us closer to defeating Voldemort.

"Who's idea was this anyway?"  
>"Oh, shut up, Ron. It's going to be a matter of life and death. Would it kill you to take this training more seriously?"<br>"Sorry, Hermione. Damn, while we're here, what the bloody hell is Harry doing?"

Hermione spun around, her bushy hair swaying in the process dramatically. Eyeing the wall that she saw Dumbledore and I going through, she gulped,  
>"I don't know, Ronald, but I hope he's doing well."<p>

*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

"Stupefy! Whoa! Stupe-Stu-SHIT!"  
>"You do not swear in front of Voldemort, Harry. It's not, as you teenagers call it, 'cool' to swear during a serious battle."<p>

Dumbledore had been working with me on impromptu reactions. He casted random spells at me while I was supposed to SOMEHOW know exactly when he was going to attack, and block the spell or shoot one of my own at him. It was harder than I thought. The old man was Hogwarts' headmaster after all; the unpredictable senior.

"Concentrate, Harry. Lord Voldemort will not wait for you to react! Giving him any hole or open area to show that you are unready will increase his chances of hitting you. You do not want that, Harry. You and Draco are Hogwarts' greatest hope now. Both of you die, and Hogwarts, as well as every part of the wizarding world, won't stand a chance either. You need to focus! Voldemort could hit you with ANY spell!" Dumbledore shouted. He was getting really worked up somehow. Honestly, I never saw him flare up like this before, it was a totally new thing that terrified me to pieces. Dumbledore was throwing a heavy load of pressure and responsibility onto me now and my self-esteem had reduced over the past few minutes. I was beginning to fear for my own life as well. Dumbledore was right, if I wasn't ready and fully focused, Voldemort would have the upper hand. Just like how he killed my parents…he would be perfectly capable of killing me…and Draco…

"I know, sir. I just need more practice."  
>"Yes…yes…I'm sorry for shouting, Harry. But you need to understand how serious of a situation this is. And I must tell you, Voldemort's first curse at you might just be the killing curse, and you would die before you even get a chance to enforce any skill you've learnt from me. We can't afford to lose the life of one of the world's greatest hopes that soon. And then there's Draco…Know this, Harry…" Dumbledore's voice dropped to a whisper. I stood closer so I could hear him better.<p>

"Should you…really die…There will be no one to back Draco up as efficiently as you do. He might not be able to make it, Harry. Don't forget, Voldemort's main target is HIM. But the difference this time is that YOU have gotten mighty attached with Draco over the past couple of months, and I am positive that he will be willing to accept support from you. That's why I need both you and Draco to attend these training sessions with me every day. Both of you must learn to cooperate and have each other's back at all times. As long as both of you become united, you become one powerful force that might just be able to eliminate Voldemort from the face of the earth."

I gulped. Draco and I were supposed to work together to destroy the man that murdered my parents. It was something I was dying to do for years, but now that the actual mission was thrown in my face, and I had to cooperate with the boy I loved for so long, I wasn't feeling really up to it. Not that I wasn't willing, but I was just worried. What if we failed…?

"Harry," Dumbledore sighed. "I know this may sound like a great deal of pressure, but I know you both can accomplish this as long as you work hard. Both you and Draco are brave boys. In fact, Draco almost very readily agreed to start lessons tomorrow."  
>"Tomorrow? Is he even in the right condition to start-"<br>"There is no time, Harry. Draco was willing, and I hope you respect his decision."  
>"I…I don't want him to get hurt…His stomach…Shit, I don't know. I just don't like the idea of him going through the kind of training you're doing with me now. I know it's going to get harder, and you're going to do the whole simulation thing too, aren't you? If Draco gets hurt here, we can't possibly let him fight the REAL battle!"<br>"Harry, Harry, you're too anxious, my boy. One of the reasons why we need to give this a shot is because…over here, in this training session, you will learn to protect each other. If you can do this, Draco will be unharmed, and both of you will stand a higher chance of survival and success in the actual battle."

I wanted to cut him off and tell him I didn't want Draco to do any training whatsoever in his current condition. From what I saw in the infirmary, the poor Slytherin wasn't even capable of getting himself a glass of water on the table next to him. How the hell did Dumbledore expect him to begin training the next day? It was just absurd.

"But-" I tried again. This time, Dumbledore was ten times more firm with his words. He furrowed his eyebrows and glared at me, "Do. Not. Argue. Harry."

I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes. Upon seeing this, Dumbledore shook his head, and apologized again. But I told him apology wasn't necessary. I guess I made up my mind. Yes, Voldemort would come, and everyone, especially Draco, needed preparation. Once again, I placed the weight of another responsibility heap on my shoulder; I was going to protect Draco at all cost, no matter how risky the situation would be. Draco was mine to protect again. And I would not fail the task like before.

"Well," I clapped my hands together. "What are we waiting for, we're here to train, aren't we?"

Dumbledore noticed the sudden tint of motivation in my voice and a smile crept upon his lips. "Very good. Okay, wand at the ready…"

And thus began the training…


	33. Chapter 33: Danger Lurking

Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing, guys! More please ^^ I'm super sorry Draco didn't make his appearance in the previous chapter. I understand some of you are reading the story mainly because you adore our Slytherin prince, so I PROMISE he shall reappear here in this chapter! Well, actually, he barely does anything in this chapter but he will in the next chapter. I'm so sorry about that, I knowwwww some of you are frantically awaiting the arrival of Drarry but that stuff can't come just yet! But it will! Hope you guys will still enjoy this lousy chapter though :D Have patience with me please x_x Oh yeah, R&R too!

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 33<span>  
><span>Danger Lurking<span>

"Bloody hell, that was some tiring training."  
>"Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there, Ron. Oh yeah, how did your separate training with Dumbledore go, Harry?"<p>

I glanced up at the ceiling for no reason in particular, some part of a smile found its way to my lips, "I guess it went pretty well, Draco's going to be joining me tomorrow." Yes, I was in truth, still terribly worried about the Slytherin's health condition, but he had no choice but to attend the training sessions. And I made myself responsible for anything that happens to him, which I hope…nothing bad would…

"Isn't Draco still in the infirmary?"  
>"Yeah, but Dumbledore said he agreed to come…"<p>

My two best friends saw my false smile begin to falter and immediately sensed my anxiety for the boy. They knew me the most, seeing through all my fake smiles. I thought they would have told me to do what my heart wanted, which was to prevent him from attending potentially dangerous training sessions. But instead, they supported me in what seemed to be the right thing, given the current situation. "Like we said before, thousands of times, although it never seems to drain into your thick skull, we're with you all the way, mate," Ron grinned, giving me a manly slap on the back. "Indeed," Hermione chimed in. "We know you'll protect him, and he'll protect you too. Both of you would perform wonderfully, I just know it!"

This time, I smiled…a real smile. I knew I could count on them. Hell, my self-esteem would die if not for these two. Looks like I had to have faith in myself to protect Draco. But the only problem is…in his mind, I was still the enemy; stupid fucking show-off Potter…

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys. I visited Draco in the infirmary a while ago," I remarked. Well, I had to tell them eventually. Their eyes widened and they looked at me with curiosity, and I knew what they were about to ask. Unfortunately, the answer wasn't what we all hoped for. Soon, I saw their crestfallen looks, which pretty much reflected mine. Honestly, my heart was still aching…Draco really didn't remember…

"Come on, mate. We ought to be going for our next class," Ron sighed, hand on my shoulder. I nodded with a blank countenance and headed off to class with my friends. It was going to be a long, depressing day…

*~*~*~MEANWHILE~*~*~*

Lucius Malfoy stood before the dark lord, fear eating him up from the inside. Voldemort had called him, and he sensed trouble afoot. He had a rough idea about what this little meeting was going to be about and it wasn't something he was looking forward to.

"Well, Lucius, do you have anything to tell me?" the soft, but firm voice echoed around the concrete walls surrounding the two. Lucius gulped, _he's the one who called me here, why the fuck would I have anything to say to him?_

"No, my lord," he stammered.

Voldemort stood up from where he sat, rising to his feet and slowly approaching the nervous Malfoy.

"I'm going to ask you again…And I'm going to ask it very nicely…Do you have anything you wish to tell me?"

Still no response. Voldemort was strangely calm as walked around Lucius, the sound of his footsteps creeping into his eardrums. He decided he had to do this a different way. "Lucius Malfoy, you've been my deatheater for years, don't you think I know you well enough to be certain that you're hiding something from me? Perhaps…information about your son's current whereabouts? Perhaps…who he's with at the present time? Perhaps…why you're looking…" He paused right in front of Lucius's face. The bald man's eyes were staring into his, searching his soul. "…looking…absolutely terrified at the sight of me…questioning you…"

Beads of perspiration were forming on the elder Malfoy's forehead and he had no idea how to respond to his master's questions. Telling a lie might save his son's life, but if the dark lord saw through his lies, he would be finished, and so would Draco. Yes, lying would help, but he could not cover things up forever. One day, the truth would obviously unfold. And this time, he knew that the dark lord had gotten some sort of lead regarding Draco's current situation and what he had been through. Why else would he be questioning him in such an eerie, intimidating way?

"I…My lord, I…I don't really know-"

Lucius was cut off by a sudden blast of light coming from Voldemort's wand. It hit him square on the chest and sent him flying into a brick wall. Blood was trickling down the back of his head and his vision became blurry.

"My lord, I don't really know~" Voldemort taunted. "Well here's a tip, you could start off by telling me why you DE-AGED your son in the first place, then proceed by explaining how the hell he ended up in Harry Potter's care, followed by telling me WHY Dumbledore has started training sessions in preparation for my arrival! How, Lucius? Tell me how. How did all this happen? My infiltration to Hogwarts was strictly a secret kept between you and I. So unless you told any other death eaters about this plan, I would assume that you paid a little visit to Dumbledore to leak in top secret information!"

Another blast of light was shot at the fallen Malfoy as he struggled to get back on his feet, failing once again. Voldemort stood before him and bent down to his eye level.

"Tell me, Lucius, why won't you just let your son accomplish that one simple mission? All he needs to do…is get rid of my main obstruction to world domination. Killing Albus Dumbledore is all I ask of him. Why won't you just let him do it? It would make our lives much easier. "  
>"I…I told you before, my lord. I don't want Draco to become a killer yet. He has a whole future ahead of him, please don't make him do it. You could have asked me or any other death eater to kill the man, but why my son…?"<br>"He will become a future death eater, and that is a job which requires much killing and bloodshed. I'm just preparing him for that future with a simple task. Now…"

Voldemort stroked Lucius' face with his cold hands, making the Malfoy quiver. "You are to stay by my side from now on, no more fraternizing with the enemy. I will take over from here…"

*~*~*~MEANWHILE~*~*~*

Draco shivered as he felt his feet come into contact with the cold, hard ground. It had been awhile since he managed to stand on his own two feet again. He had spent the past hour trying to simply sit up on his bed. His stomach hurt when he bent and stretched or basically moved around excessively, but once he was up on his feet, the pain just died down.

The slytherin let out a soft chuckle as he began walking around the room with ease; finally he could walk again! It felt stupid as hell to stay cooped up in a bed all day with barely any visitors, namely a greasy haired professor, an old coot, and his 'enemy'. Draco's smile faded away at the thought of his last visitor, thoughts racing wildly through his mind. Then he remembered that he would be seeing this particular visitor tomorrow during Dumbledore's DADA training session and an innocent little smile reappeared on his lips once more.

Yes, Draco…You'll have to face my ugly face tomorrow. I hope we can still work well together despite…well…all the stuff that has happened…

…See you soon…

Author's Note: HEY I made an early chapter so you guys better be grateful LOL! Review pleaseeeeeee (sorry this chapter was so terribly short but I've been busy lately T T...)


	34. Chapter 34: We Meet Again

Author's Note: Hello again, my totally awesome readers :D Just to answer some questions, Draco's friends do care about him, but they were just kinda afraid to see him, like Harry was initially. Yes, of course they wanted to visit him, but were unsure of what to say or do in his presence, slytherins aren't exactly good with such things…haha ^^;; Okay, finally here's the chapter you've all been waiting for…Harry and Draco meet again! But what happens when they do? LOL enjoy this chapter and please review before you leave~ For the past 2 chapters, I've been getting only 4 reviews per chapter…which isn't exactly what I, or most other authors would call…inspirational haha. Sorry but as long as you're reading this story and hope to see it continue, I would really really encourage you to review ^^ Thanks loads~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 34<span>  
><span>We Meet Again<span>

"See ya after training, guys!" I exclaimed, waving to my friends. Everyone had gathered in the Room of Requirement for their second DADA training course. It looked like it was going to get intense, but I brushed it aside and began to worry for my own training. Hell, where was Dumbledore? I remained standing in front of the brick wall which was SUPPOSED to let me through, but I had no idea how to make it open up. So I did the only thing that came to my mind, "RON!"

"Bloody hell, mate, can you stop shouting my name EVERY SINGLE TIME you're faced with some random situation?"  
>"SORRY!"<p>

Well, looks like that didn't turn out too well. I guess I'd have to change my reaction to things, enough of calling for Ron who obviously can't do anything to help. Maybe I should switch to calling for Hermione instead…

Just then, I heard the familiar rumbling noise and felt mild tremors at my feet. The entrance had made itself visible to me and I walked inside nervously. The first person I saw was Dumbledore, but soon after, my eyes drifted towards the person behind him.

"Draco…"  
>"Potter," he nodded in acknowledgement.<p>

The icy coldness in his eyes had returned, but somehow they were foreign to me. I wasn't used to seeing these eyes anymore, I missed the bright and cheerful eyes I used to see every day. Dumbledore sensed the awkward tension and declared the beginning of our training immediately, "okay, now I'm going to pretend to be Voldemort and cast all sorts of random spells at you, of course not the Avada Kedavra FOR NOW, but believe me, we'll get there. It's actually very necessary and the ministry doesn't need to know about us using forbidden curses lest they prevent us from continuing our training. We need this training, the whole of Hogwarts does. The last thing we need is the ministry meddling with us at such a crucial time where the dark lord could be on his way this very moment. So, both of you get into position, you've done this before, Harry. You and Draco can decide on what kind of stance you want to take that you're both comfortable with."

I turned to look at Draco, who wasn't even facing me. This wasn't going to work if he didn't even want to communicate with me.

"Um…Draco?" I tried.  
>"What, Potter?"<br>"Dumbledore told us to decide on a battle stance. Any suggestion?"  
>"I'm fine with anything."<br>"Okay, so…how are we going to do this?"

Draco merely shrugged his shoulders, the whole time staring at a brick wall. I felt the weird awkwardness again and was almost near puking. I hated that feeling like hell. It's like when a teacher puts you with a stranger and both of you have to work together on a project, but nobody's saying anything. But I was trying! Draco just didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me, like what he said back in the infirmary…Upon remembering that horrid memory, I glanced down at my feet in misery. So there we were; a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, two enemy houses, standing rooted to the ground, one facing the wall, one facing the floor. Yup, this was absolute awkwardness, and I had no idea how long this was going to last. I knew I shouldn't have expected too much for our second meeting, but I had hoped for some sort of ACTUAL communication this time. If we couldn't even come to an agreement about something as basic as a battle stance, how the hell were we supposed to defeat the dark forces together?

"LOOK OUT!"

Before I knew it, Draco had dashed in front of me and blocked a spell which was headed in my direction. I felt a gust of wind and a bright white light engulfed my vision as the two spells collided. Draco had counter-cursed a sudden spell that I didn't even sense. Who fired the…?

"Focus, Harry. Remember what I told you; ABSOLUTE focus," came the voice of Dumbledore, his wand still pointed at me. Damn, I scolded myself mentally. I was supposed to be the alert one, on the lookout for Draco, but I wasn't even focused enough to defend myself. I looked up nervously at Draco, who stared back at me, disgust burning in his eyes. At least it appeared to be disgust, but I could have sworn…there was some other emotion within the two silver orbs, blocked by a mask of hatred.

"I'm sorry, Draco."  
>"Just pay attention next time, will you, Potter…"<br>"Yeah, I will."

He was still so cold towards me, I didn't like it one bit. But I guess I should have known better than to hope to hear anything along the lines of "Harry, don't die!" or "Harry careful! Dun get hurt!" Gone were those days, right now, I needed to convince myself that this was no longer the adorable three year old Draco who needed my care and attention. This was Draco Malfoy, teenager, Slytherin, who hated me. But we were going to have to cooperate anyway. Why was I finding this so hard...?

"POTTER!" Draco shouted again before blocking another spell from hitting me. Okay, I better stop spacing out before he gets mad, I don't need him to hate me any more than he does now. The Slytherin walked towards me with a gleam of annoyance in his eyes, "how many times do I have to save you to make you realize that spacing out in battle is going to cost you your fucking life?"  
>"I'm sorry!" I retorted. This time, Dumbledore fired a shot at Draco's back when he was facing me.<p>

"Duck!" I yelled. Draco didn't obey, but instead turned around in shock at the sudden spell that was inches away from hitting him. Both of us lifted our wands but it was too late, the spell had hit us and sent us tumbling to the ground. I didn't know where Draco was hurt but personally the spell was shot right at my head and the impact from hitting the ground was making me dizzy as hell. "Are you okay, Draco?" I sat up, looking around frantically, worsening the dizziness. Without warning, I felt something collide with my arm and push me aside. A second later, I realized that a spell had hit the ground where I had initially sat. My vision focused and I saw that it was Draco who had pushed me aside to save me from the spell. Hell, he was good.

Then Dumbledore began firing spells a little more wildly, but pretty much aimlessly, and we had to stay on our feet to dodge them. Countless times, I saw Draco nearly get hit, which pulled me into a state of panic, which then resulted in me almost getting hit as well…until Draco blocked the spells for me. I felt freaking useless at this training session, and I knew Draco was perfectly aware of that.

After a couple minutes more of dodging and blocking, the lesson was over. Dumbledore ushered us over to him. With an arm around us each, he gave an exaggerated sigh and told us that we didn't perform as well as he had expected, but also that this was our first lesson together and he could understand how hard it was for two rival houses to work together. Nevertheless, he hoped that he could see us do better the next day, and advised us to talk things out and discuss battle stances and whatnot. His keywords were constantly ringing in my mind; Focus and Teamwork.

The elderly headmaster led the way out of the secret room and we saw that the rest of the class was also taking their leave. All were looking absolutely exhausted and much more tired out than the first DADA lesson. Somehow, I was convinced that Draco and I were in worse shape. We were actually HIT by real spells and really attacked by an opponent, although Dumbledore said he went easy on us with weak spells and slow attacks. STILL…

Dumbledore had disappeared among the sea of heads before us pretty soon and eventually everyone else was out of the Room of Requirement, leaving Draco and I strolling slowly alone at the back. I couldn't help but feel nervous around him. Bloody hell, I had just humiliated myself countless times during the training session and proven myself to be the useless, know-nothing Potter whom he despised to the very core. Damn, this would have been much easier if he remembered…if he was still the same little Draco I took care of… Yeah, I know they in truth were the exact same people, but it just felt different, indescribably different…

"Potter," came Draco's voice. I halted in my footsteps and turned to look at him. He had slowed his walking pace down and made no attempt to catch up to me.

"Yeah, Draco?" I asked.  
>"Um okay, enough with that first name thing. What happened to the old formality of last names huh?" He snapped. Somehow I wasn't offended or anything, I was just eager to hear what else he had to say. Even if our conversation had to be full of argument and consisted mainly of insults directed towards me, I wouldn't mind, it beat having him give me the cold shoulder.<p>

"What the hell happened back there?"  
>"You mean the spacing out? Hell, I do that all the time."<br>"Well, you should stop doing that, it's fucking stupid."  
>"Yeah, I know, I'll try to change that, Dray."<br>"Okay, okay, what is it with the names? You never used to call me anything but Malfoy."  
>"I don't know, I figured we should stop acting like enemies if we're going to be training together."<br>"This started before training even began, Potter."  
>"You don't like me to call you by your first name?"<br>"No I- I mean- well…it is my name but- YOU using it is just…"  
>"Draco…?"<p>

I looked at the Slytherin worriedly. Draco was stammering and looking really tense. Was it a sensitive topic? Did he really hate me so much that I was strictly forbidden to call him anything besides his last name? He shut his eyes for a brief moment before holding his composure once more.

"It's nothing, just don't talk about it."  
>"Sorry…"<br>"You don't have to be sorry. Anyway, practice today was kinda crappy, so you better be more alert next time.  
>"Yes, Draco!"<p>

I bit my lower lip in embarrassment, realizing I seemed abnormally eager to obey his every command. Even Draco appeared shocked. But then I noticed his facial expression, he was about to laugh, I could tell, but he hid it before it even had a chance to show entirely. I managed to catch a small smile as he turned around to leave to his next class. I didn't even realize we were already at the door.

"Hmm, guess I'll see you tomorrow, Draco," I said, watching his back getting further away from me. I had to try to give our conversation a proper ending. I caught sight of his hand making a backwards waving gesture. That was it…?

I sighed, turning to leave in the opposite direction. Then I was taken by surprise when I heard a voice respond to mine in the cold, dark hallway.

"Yeah, bye, Harry."


	35. Chapter 35: Please Be Safe

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I'd really hate to complain about too little reviews cuz some of you are giving pretty long reviews which I enjoy reading xD But please keep them coming, same goes to new followers of this story~ Okay so this chapter is going to be kind of like a rushed job due to SAT and other relationship stuff which have actually been bothering me a lot lately. Honestly I'm somewhat not in the best state to write today but it's ALL FOR YOU GUYS! Oh and no Draco here, just a short flashback and characters mentioning stuff about him, that's all, SORRY! Enjoy this chapter anyway and please review, thanks~

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 35<span>  
><span>Please Be Safe<span>

Narcissa began pacing about in Malfoy Manor. Ever since the recent incident with the Dark Lord, her husband had been forbidden to return to her side and was forced to stay with him for a hell long time. The wife of Lucius Malfoy sat herself on the couch, feeling the stress she knew would have come sooner or later. She began questioning the decision of de-ageing Draco in the first place, then wondered if he was okay (Lucius had told her about his little accident with him) and then began to panic at the thought of Voldemort and his Death Eater army infiltrating Hogwarts and killing her only son. What would become of her family? Personally, Narcissa wasn't exactly willing to work for Voldemort anymore now that her husband, and most importantly, her son's life was on the line.

In an attempt to relax, she scooped out an old photo album from a nearby cabinet and began flipping through the pages. The Malfoy family was never known for taking many photographs of themselves, although Narcissa could have sworn she saw Draco topless and posing in front of a mirror and snapping random shots of himself when he was thirteen. However, she had made an effort to take at least one picture every year since Draco was born. This year…there was no picture…how could anyone be in the mood for a picture at this crucial time? "Will we even get a chance to get a family photo this year…?" She wondered aloud. Her mind was constantly flooded with images of her husband and son's death, but she tried her best to shake those thoughts away and proceeded flipping through the pages of the album; Draco's first birthday party, it wasn't really a party. It was just the three of them and a huge cake that they didn't even finish. The next few pictures were also just centered on their immediate family, until one day Draco plucked up the courage to ask, "Mother, why don't I ever have any friends celebrating my birthday parties with me? It's always you and Father."

Narcissa recalled that very moment; her baby boy was beginning to speak his mind. It then occurred to her that her son could really do with some friends, thus resulting in her speaking with Lucius about it. Lucius then got a couple of his deatheater pals to bring their children over to Malfoy Manor every now and then. Narcissa stared at a picture of Draco and his new friends; Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy. The three friends looked fairly happy, but Draco's smile…it was a false one. She knew her son well enough to discover that he didn't exactly regard the three as really close friends, possibly just acquaintances? Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy took a liking to Draco almost immediately when they saw him; that was for sure. But whether or not it was because they knew of his family's high status and wealth was uncertain. Draco never thought of that though, whenever Narcissa asked him,

"Draco, darling, did you have fun with your friends today?"  
>"Yesh! They're so nice to Draco."<br>"Why do you think they're nice to you, dear?"  
>"Cuz…Draco is nice too? Draco love making friends!"<p>

Her son had smiled adorably at her, she couldn't risk breaking that innocent smile by telling him the possibility that they only befriended him because his dad told them to, and that they sucked up to him because of his family's wealth and status.

Narcissa continued to flip through the flimsy pages of the old album, soon coming to the conclusion that her son never had a truly happy childhood. Every fragment of it was just shoved into his life by them, his parents. He never had a chance to show his true character. He just did what he was told, every now and then he would start speaking his mind, but in a dignified way, like his father did. He wasn't rebellious at home, thank merlin. Apparently in school he flaunted his high status and was strictly against mudbloods, much to his father's delight. Also, she got wind from several people that her son became famous for the line "wait till my father hears about this" and thus got mocked behind his back as a 'Daddy's little boy'.

"Draco…" She whispered, still staring at their most recent family photo where they all looked sternly in the direction of the camera. "My baby Draco, I hope that de-ageing you gave you a chance to experience a real childhood. I'm sorry your father and I failed as parents. Please forgive us and…" A tear escaped her eyes as she began to worry again. "Please…be safe…"

I sat in the Gryffindor common room, fingers skidding across the pages of the album my friends had given me. Flipping through the pages, I couldn't help but giggle at the animated images of three year old Draco doing all sorts of weird things which he wouldn't be caught dead doing at this age. I was fantasizing over one particular picture of me tickling Draco while he kept rolling about and laughing, shouting for me to stop. It was adorable as hell and I could see his lips moving to form the words 'Harry stoppppp!' Somehow no one else could make my heart melt inside of me by calling my name, except him. His innocent little voice; I could still hear it ringing in my head whenever I looked at these pictures. But I missed hearing it in real life…His voice…

_Yeah, bye, Harry_

Those words were the closest thing I heard to what his three year old self would have said. He called me by my first name again. It was the second time he had done that since he came to in the infirmary.

_Oh…okay. Thanks…H-Harry_

That was the first time he called me by my first name in his teenage form. Both times, however, I couldn't help but have that same warm, melty feeling within me. I wasn't quite sure but I really hoped that these two incidents were signs that he remembered…or at least part of his de-aged days had remained engraved in some part of his mind. Oh god, Draco… Tell me you remember! My greatest wish of all now would be for you to tell me that you do… But if you do, why would you want to pretend that it never happened? I don't get it…

Just then, I heard some random furniture get knocked against. I was sitting at my favorite spot at the window, which was one of the only sources of light now because there was a full moon conveniently out tonight, but I still couldn't see the intruder. I set the album aside and stood up, "lumos."

"Ahh..Turn that light off, Harry!"

It was Neville of all people. "What the…Why are you still awake, mate?" I raised an eyebrow. I was pretty certain that I didn't make much of a noise when I sneaked out of my room, and how much noise could flipping album pages cause?

"I couldn't sleep, just wanted to get some food, you want some?"  
>"We have food here?"<br>"Well…it's my secret stash. Don't tell anyone!"

I grinned and nodded at the fatter boy, who beamed with glee and retrieved a couple of cupcakes from somewhere within the darkness. He then joined me at the window and handed me a cupcake. I held it up under the moonlight. Cupcake…

"Hey, Neville," I said, still mesmerized by the cupcake. He looked at me with food stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from speaking comprehensible words.

"You know…When little Draco first came to the common room, the very first thing he ate was a cupcake. In fact, he ate more than he should. I felt pretty guilty at that time, he was only here for less than a day and I already made him get sick."  
>"Haha, Ron told me about that. But I guess it's not really your fault. The poor little guy had a weak tummy. And who knew how much he could eat? Seriously, look at me! This portion of cupcakes here is probably one tenth of my diet."<p>

I laughed at his comment while I picked the album up once more. Looking at the cover, I smiled. I was glad that my friends were here for me. They had been with me throughout this whole de-ageing incident and all of us missed the three year old slytherin like hell. I wasn't going through this alone.

"You miss him, don't you?" Neville said suddenly. I didn't know why, but I was a little shocked by this question. I thought it was pretty obvious. "Well, yeah…I mean…I got extremely attached to him during that period of time and it felt as if he was one of us; our family. And just as suddenly as he came, he left us. I still can't get over the fact that he's forgotten all of this while I'm here reminiscing about it every single day. It's just…"

I failed to complete my sentence, hand trembling as I gripped firmly on the album. I felt my vision getting a little blurry again and I knew I was about to cry, but I held the tears back. I was supposed to stay strong! Countless times I had to remind myself that Draco wasn't truly gone. He was here in Hogwarts with us. But it wasn't as easy to convince myself as I hoped.

"What if…" Neville began. "What if he never really forgot? You ever thought of that?"  
>"Um yeah, I did. But what are the odds of that? Come on, we were already told beforehand that by drinking the potion, Draco would more than likely forget everything."<br>"Still! Ah…I really do miss the little poof."  
>"So do I…"<br>"Harry, you forgive me, right? For that time…?"

I had to pause to figure out what he was getting at. That was when I recalled the Blaise incident. "Oh yeah, totally. It wasn't really your fault I guess, and Draco didn't blame you either, so nothing to worry about!" Neville flashed me a broad grin before stuffing another cupcake into his mouth. Pretty soon, I started thinking about Draco again. How's he doing in the Slytherin common room? Are his friends taking care of him? Is he safe…?

"Uhhhh are you gonna eat that?" Neville asked, pointing at the cupcake that I had left untouched. Glancing at it once last time, I shook my head, no. Neville then devoured the cupcake within a few seconds and bid me goodnight. "See ya in a few hours."

I hugged the album close to my chest. Somehow doing so would make me feel as if I was hugging Draco, which was somewhat comforting. Draco…will you ever hug me again? Will you ever tell me you love me again…? I know I would, only if you let me. Perhaps when all this is over and we take Voldemort down, I'd try my luck winning your heart from scratch. But for now… I just hope that you'll... please…

Be safe…


	36. Chapter 36: Because Paths Do Cross

Author's Note: Hmm... I guess the previous chapter was pretty disappointing, sorry about that but we need some serious/sad chapters here and there don't we? After all, no little Draco running around equals depression for me Dx Ughhhh…Well here comes the next chapter! Hey hey hey look, I wrote one more chapter soooooo quickly! Personally I LOVE how this chapter turned out, and I hope you guys do too! For those who have been reviewing, thanks soooo much I love you guys! Please continue to do so :) For those who haven't been reviewing, your reviews will be very much appreciated! Thanks~ R&R!

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 36<span>  
><span>Because Paths Do Cross<span>

"You're still not focusing, Potter! What the hell do you think you're-LOOK OUT!"

Pushed aside once again and watching my partner block yet another spell, I shook my head violently and forced myself into what I hoped was full concentration. It was my fifth lesson today, and Draco's fourth. Yet, he seemed to be the more professional one. Imagine that, the 'chosen one', Harry Potter, can't even hold a candle to a random Slytherin. Then again, Draco wasn't just a random Slytherin. He was Draco.

I could see the creases on Dumbledore's head increasing in folds each time he witnessed Draco having to save my ass. I felt bad, honestly, I did. But at the back of my mind lay a sea of wild thoughts which I tried desperately tried not to think about. It was distracting me half the time. And it didn't help that the one involved in these thoughts was the one standing by me in every training session. I understood the seriousness of the situation and I wanted more than ever to be the one Draco could trust entirely and rely on, but earning his trust was harder than expected, especially since I was making a total boob of myself in front of him lately.

"Okay, take a break, you two. Or rather, I'll be taking a break, so if you'll excuse me for a minute…" Dumbledore mumbled as he headed out of the room, telling us he'd be back in about ten minutes. I knew he was pissed with my pathetic skills in basic concentration and would rather observe how the others were progressing outside instead of watching me fail to meet his expectations. I sat in a corner with my legs crossed, staring blankly ahead. Apparently I was unaware that the Slytherin had stepped in front of me until he began to stamp his feet.

"What the hell, Potter. What's wrong with you?"  
>"What do you mean what's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? The hell are you getting so pissed about, Draco…"<br>"You can't even do something as simple as concentration. Damn, I could be entirely focused at a young age. I was like...what, three? And my parents were proud of me for being able to drown everything else out while I focused on what I deemed was important. Look at you…How am I supposed to work with someone like you?"

Something in me had snapped. I couldn't keep the anger in me any longer, "Draco fucking Malfoy, you shut the hell up right now! I thought you changed. Why are you acting all high and mighty now? When you were three, you were practically pampered by all of us. Speak of concentration…you never needed to concentrate on anything because everyone was concentrating on you! Everything was about you! You know why I've been acting all fucked up lately? It's because of you! Every single day, those thoughts of you haunt me and I question myself if I really did the right thing…letting you turn back…turn back into…"

At that moment, my voice chose to seal itself within me, making me incapable of speaking. What was I thinking… Draco didn't even remember those things, I probably sounded like some bloody retard spouting nonsense. I lowered my head in what seemed to be embarrassment and sadness. There was no more anger, I had let the steam out. Besides…how could I stay angry at Draco…I loved him…

The Slytherin had a look of shock planted on his face the whole time, he too had become silent. At least we weren't argueing… After a few awkward seconds, Draco decided to speak.

"Potter, I don't know what to say…"

"If I seemed like a pompous asshole, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Why are you not saying anything, Potter? Show a little respect, you're making me look like a fool talking to myself here."

"POTTER!"

Abruptly, I raised my head up and stared into his silver eyes. My eyes were gleaming with tears and I saw that his were beginning to water as well, although I couldn't tell why. It was then that he had unexpectedly bent down to my eye level and our gazes never left each other. I was still speechless at that point. But little did I know that what Draco was about to say to me was going to leave me even more dumbfounded than I already was.

"Listen, I didn't mean to be rude or anything, okay? And I'm sorry for whatever I did in the past, but now we gotta be focused on our mission. Voldemort's a scary guy and personally, I don't wanna die in the hands of a bald guy, and I doubt you do too. I don't know much about what you've been thinking lately, all I know is that your mind is obviously pretty fucked up with stuff you think I probably don't understand. But know this," He inched himself closer to me such that our faces were only a few centimeters apart. I could feel his breath on me and my skin was crawling. Draco and I hadn't been so near each other for a hell long time, the last time we did was when he was still a three year old. It was an unfamiliar feeling to me, yet…still somewhat nostalgic…

"Dumbledore appointed you as my protector, and I believe there's a perfectly good reason why he chose you out of all other students and professors."  
>"A-and…what do you suppose that is…?"<br>"Well…I don't know exactly but…whatever it is," he placed his hand on my shoulder and shook it gently. My eyes went wide and I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. Draco had his hand on me…Wow…I haven't felt this for a long time…

Draco's usual cold eyes morphed into warm ones which looked at me longingly and he smiled. Holy shit, he actually SMILED at me. "You," He said. "You're supposed to protect me. Now how is spacing out during battle going to do that?" Draco's smile had turned into a smug grin, one that I recognized from the past. It was one of those grins he used when he was insulting me, but this time I didn't feel insulted somehow. In fact, I felt…what was it…flattered? Shy? Then, Draco sighed and looked away for a brief moment, breaking the eye contact. Strangely, I found myself wanting to grab him and make him turn around to face me again. I didn't need to though, eventually he did turn back and his voice became rather sullen. Tears had already begun flowing down from his beautiful eyes and I felt a pang of pain in my heart seeing him cry. What made it worse was that he was still struggling to maintain a false smile while he spoke… Every word he said began tearing me apart…

"You know…If you space out when we fight Voldemort…we're screwed. And…he's going to kill me…I don't wanna die, Harry…"

_"Har-ry! Dra-Draco so s-scared! Dr-Drac-co gonna die r-right?"  
>"No no no don't say that, baby. You won't die, I won't let you!"<em>

"…Please…You're supposed to be my protector…If you can't protect yourself, how are you going to protect me? I don't wanna die, Harry. Please…don't…Don't let me die…"

At that moment, more flashbacks of little Draco clinging on to me for protection, asking me to stay with him, telling me not to leave him…began penetrating my mind. Draco had been my responsibility during that time and I had failed him more than once. He almost died on a few occasions in my care. And now, I was supposed to protect him again. It was then that I realized that this time, Draco could really ACTUALLY die if I wasn't there for him. I needed to protect him from Voldemort or else…

I had no idea what came over me, but I suddenly reached forward and pulled the astonished Slytherin into my arms.  
>"P-Potter! What are you-"<br>"I know what you're thinking: what the hell is he doing…right? But please hear me out. I just want you to know that I'll be there for you, Draco. I'll be with you all the way. I won't let you die…I don't want you to die…I promise, this time I won't leave your side. We'll take him down together! If anyone's gonna do the dying here, it's Voldemort!"  
>"You…really will protect me? You're actually willing…?"<br>"Of course, Dray…"  
>"But why? Why would someone like you do this for someone like me…?"<p>

"Because…" I felt myself shaking, or maybe Draco was the one, I don't know. All I knew was that I desperately wanted to proclaim my love for the boy in my arms. But what would happen if I did? It was already weird enough that someone from his rival house was embracing him, saying "I love you" would definitely be taking it a little too far.

"Because…Draco…I…I just don't want to see you get hurt, let alone die. Every life is valuable. I've lost several people in my life and I don't expect you to die too! Not when we just became friends!" I said the closest thing to what I felt. Honestly, I was half expecting to get pushed away and hear Draco protest something against befriending a Gryffindor. Who was I to decide our relationship anyway?

"Friends…? That's what we are, huh?"  
>"Well…If you don't want to be friends, we could start of as acquaintances I guess. Or perhaps just battle partners?"<br>"Nah, friends is good…"

I released him from the long, unexpected hug and found him smiling. It was a real smile this time. I was glad to finally see his true smile again, how I missed it… Draco had wiped the tears off his eyes and I could sense him looking at me while I did the same.

"What?" I laughed between tears. Draco chuckled a little and shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, the entrance to the room reopened and the silhouette of Dumbledore appeared. When the smoke had cleared, we saw him blink a few times at us with a weird expression on his face. I couldn't blame him. Draco and I WERE in fact sitting abnormally close to each other.

"Uh…how are the others doing, sir?" Draco tried to lighten the mood, slowly gliding away from me almost unnoticeably. Dumbledore simply shrugged and replied, "Pretty good, but they could definitely do with more practice. Same goes for you two."

Draco and I nodded in unison, watching Dumbledore nod in awkwardness as well. The quietness of the room made the situation a little more awkward than it should have been. Apparently Dumbledore couldn't stand it much longer and declared, "Well…shall we?"

I immediately stood up and got ready to resume the training. Glancing down at Draco, I stretched my hand out towards him, a broad smile on my face. He gave me one of those signature smirks as he took my hand, "thanks, Potter."

"No. Harry. Just call me Harry. You called me that a few minutes ago, although I bet you didn't realize it."  
>"Haha okay, fine. Thanks…Harry."<p> 


	37. Chapter 37: It All Comes Down to This

Author's Note: Yayyy finally new chapter! And thanks for reviewing once again, please continue doing that ;D Haha, this is chapter…what again? Ooooo hell it's chapter 37 ALREADY? It's about time I wrap this story up man. Just curious, how many chapters do YOU guys hope this story contains? Anyway, while I ponder over how to end the story, whether it's to shorten or lengthen it, you can sit back, relax and read this chapter. R&R! ^^

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 37<span>  
><span>It All Comes Down to This<span>

"My Lord, when do you suppose the time is right?"  
>"Impatient, are we, Bellatrix?"<br>"Um…I thought that…my Lord, you'd want to kill as soon as possible…"  
>"True, true. Incidentally, I have already decided beforehand that we embark on our little killing spree today. So you might want to get ready, this is going to be a bloody encounter…"<p>

Somewhere in the distance, the dark mark implanted itself into the clouded skies of grey and within seconds, deatheaters were swarming down to god only knows where. Pretty soon, this very batch would head off to Hogwarts, rushing in for the kill.

*~*~*~*MEANWHILE~*~*~*

"Curse at three o'clock!"  
>"Yeah I got it!"<p>

Draco and I were dodging and deflecting spells like professionals now. If I recall correctly, we had been having DADA lessons for almost two weeks. According to Ron and Hermione, everyone else in the Room of Requirement was making quick progress as well. Now all of us felt pretty ready for battle. But we knew at the back of our minds that not all of us were going to survive this, no matter how prepared we were. We were considered kids, the death eaters were like…how old? Either way, we were going to fight to the very end. Draco and I had already decided on skillful tactics and positions to take, who would cast what spell and when, based on our niche areas in specific spells. Things hadn't gone as swimmingly as we hoped during the initial training process, we got hurt pretty badly at times.

~FLASHBACK~

Draco and I stood back to back as we kept a lookout for Dumbledore who kept appearing out of nowhere in the darkness. It was terrifying for both of us and we were shivering in fear half the time, reason being that Dumbledore warned us he was going to attempt using forbidden curses this time, and he had put all the light out. We were engulfed in darkness and had nothing to rely on besides each other.

"See anything, Draco?"  
>"No…Wait, holy shit MOVE!"<br>"What?"

Before I knew it, Draco had pushed me aside just like countless times before, but he himself sustained injury. Normally we would have been able to deflect the curse or dodge it skillfully, but the darkness and the knowledge of possibly being hit by the killing curse altogether put us in a vulnerable state of panic.

Immediately, I bent down to Draco. I got worried as hell as I saw him clutching his stomach and coughing blood. My first assumption was that the curse had hit him in the middle, which would definitely have hurt since the hospital incident.

"Draco, are you okay? Professor Dumbledore, stop the training! He's hurt!"

Another blast of light was shot in our direction and I pulled Draco aside right on time.

"Sir! I said stop! You injured him!"

One more spell was shot relentlessly through the darkness and both Draco and I realized Dumbledore's point. It was my time to shine and protect the Slytherin. I braved myself and stood up, protecting Draco with a magical shield, and also with my life. Nevertheless, I was trembling. "Harry," Draco muttered, pulling at my cloak. "Focus, okay? Don't be scared." I found myself feeling slightly relieved and a small wave of inspiration came back to me upon hearing Draco's words. I was forced to face the truth that during actual battle with the enemy, Voldemort would never be so kind as to stop attacking and wait till his opponent recovers from an injury. It was every man for himself, except that wasn't the case for Draco and I; if good ol' Voldy wanted to kill one of us, he'd have to kill us both.

Suddenly, I caught sight of a green streak heading towards me from the side. Draco seemed to have noticed it too, and was about to warn me, but almost instantaneously, I had deflected it. Both Draco and I seemed to be in awe at my achievement. Somewhere in the darkness, Dumbledore smirked and nodded his head in approval. He was going to take things to a higher level…

Pretty soon, spells were being shot everywhere from every edge of darkness and I had absolutely no idea how an old guy could move so fast. If Dumbledore was so fast, how fast was Voldemort…? Once again, Draco reminded me not to panic. I bit my lip and nodded. While just barely deflecting new spells, I struggled to compose and recall every bit of training I had been through. Come on…I need to find that 'feel'…That feeling of invincibility… Once I grasped that feeling, I would naturally feel more confident of myself and that would allow me to release magic of a higher standard. I needed to find my motivation, according to Dumbledore, it was sort of the same concept as the Patronus charm; find a happy memory and blah blah blah… Secretly, I had decided that my motivation was Draco, who was now sitting at my feet, pretty helpless if I might add. The thought of him was making me more worried than confident.

"Draco…"  
>"Don't worry about me, I know what you're thinking, but I'll help you with this, okay?"<br>"Okay…"

Taking a deep breath, my eyes began to scan the darkness, looking for any sign of movement or shadow. The spells had ceased to come and I knew Dumbledore was planning on a sneak attack. Who knew, he could be a few meters away from me now. Focus…Focus…

"Draco! Movement at four o'clock!"

Startled, Draco pointed his wand in the direction I had given him and shot a spell into the darkness. "Did I hit anything?" He asked, still shivering. I didn't reply. I was sure I sensed movement there, but the sound produced from Draco's blow didn't sound like it actually hit anything besides a stone wall. I strained my eyes and looked around, Draco following my lead. We had both been through the same training, somehow when one of us knew what we were doing, the other would be able to follow suit. I began to feel a bonding aura between the Slytherin and I, which was making me swell up with joy on the inside. Yay~

Unexpectedly, the spells were coming at us again at vicious speed. This time, Draco and I had somehow linked our auras together and were shooting our own spells relentlessly into wherever we perceived the attacker was, deflecting his spells swiftly at the same time. In my mind, I was absolutely amazed at what we were doing. This looked like a scene in some computer game where you had no idea where the enemy was and you were just blindly attacking. But this was different. At some point, I had experienced something unimaginable, and I was sure Draco did too.

Part of our souls had wandered out of our bodies and were free to roam about the darkness, scanning the area for our target. My vision became quite disoriented, half of it was almost pitch black except for the spells being constantly shot around, the other half was moving at light speed with blue on white vision. Finally, I saw him. Dumbledore in the newly uncovered half of my vision was a glowing white figure among the sea of midnight blue, moving at a speed that no elderly man should. "Do you see him, Dray?" I asked, hearing my voice in two places at once. I couldn't tell which by now, but one of the Draco's had nodded and lifted his wand.

After what seemed like eternity, we had a lock-on on Dumbledore and shouted in unison, "Expelliarmus!"

What happened after that was amazing, instead of the spell being fired twice, it got fired from four different areas! One from my wand, one from Draco's, one from my loose soul and the other from Draco's, bringing about a great impact of a spell landing on the astounded headmaster who got thrown backwards and disarmed. I was actually worried that we hurt the old guy. Turns out that we didn't though, thank Merlin.

I felt my soul become one within myself again as my vision began to stabilize, that indeed was an out of this world experience… Dumbledore put the light back on, and got back onto his feet. He retrieved his wand, looking as if he were about to attack again. Draco and I went back into a battle position, but Dumbledore waved at us to put our wands down.

"You two…amazed me today. I haven't been so tired in years. But back to the point, that was truly some magic back there, I see you have uncovered a new skill. You see what you're capable of doing when you work together? Now, I believe, with more practice, you two might really be able to defeat Voldemort once and for all. Good job…now if you'll excuse me, I need to get some rest. I would advise you to do the same…" Patting us both on the shoulder, the old man exited the room.

~END FLASHBACK~

And that was only the beginning. After which, the lessons just got more and more thrilling and challenging, but both of us had enjoyed the experience as the seemingly unstoppable duo, especially with our newfound ability.

"Dodge to your right!"

Now we felt united, there was a link of communication formed between us, sometimes we didn't even need to speak to let the other know what we were saying. Just a look in the eye or a simple gesture would tell us all.

"Attack from above!"

I couldn't help but chuckle- Don't get me wrong, I was serious as hell about this training. But I chuckled because I couldn't contain my joy any longer. Draco and I were finally beginning to bond. I mean, we're actually doing more than talking. Sure, we're not a couple, but who says you need to be a couple in order to find happiness in one another?

"Expelliarmus!"

I was thankful enough that Draco and I were on speaking terms after the hospital incident. But it was on that one training day that he opened himself up to me, and I saw a hint of the innocent three year old Draco in him. I wanted so much to believe that he was actually remembering the past, but I guess I'd just have to settle for this. It was good enough.

"Well done, both of you. I couldn't be more proud."  
>"Thanks, professor."<br>"Hey, now that you think we're professionals-"  
>"I never said that, young Malfoy."<br>"Whatever, you old coot. Are we gonna have some sort of party after all this is over? I could really use a break."  
>"We'll talk when the time comes."<p>

Right you are, Dumbledore. I, too, would only be in the mood to think about parties when Voldemort rots in hell. Right now, we didn't even know if we would survive. Sure, the training went well and definitely seemed like it would pay off, but who could be sure?

Just then, there was a thunderous boom somewhere outside the castle. Draco, Dumbledore and I dashed out of the room, finding everyone rushing out of the Room of Requirement. I managed to locate Ron and Hermione, "what happened, guys? We heard some weird noise."

Both of them shrugged and followed the rest of the crowd outside…where we witnessed a sight like no other. The sky became almost entirely black and clouded over, a greenish grey tint covering the surface of the clouds, among which lay the dark mark.

"They're here…" Dumbledore muttered. Immediately, all the professors went to take their position, ushering students to come along and follow their instructions without question. Ron, Hermione, Draco and I glanced from Hogwarts to the sky, and what lay below it. There was a mass of some black smoky formation heading towards us. "Deatheaters…" Ron snarled. He and Hermione then took off with the rest of the crowd, hand in hand. I looked at Draco and his glassy silver orbs met my green ones. He nodded.

"It's time."


	38. Chapter 38: Hogwarts Under Siege

Author's Note: Ah…I'm sorry guys I've kinda lost interest in this story, forgive me! I know it's a sin to lose interest at the major climax of the story, but don't worry I'll finish it for you guys anyway =] Maybe I'll regain my interest back soon hopefully haha, more reviews would help *hint HINT* LOL enjoy~

Acceptance  
>Chapter 38<br>Hogwarts under Siege

Streaks of dark figures continuously rocketed towards the castle, leaving smoky black trails behind, and they were increasing in numbers. Hell, since when were there so many death eaters?

"Harry, we have to go," Draco said, tugging at my sleeve. I looked at him as if he were the innocent little three year old, pulling my arm to take him out for some ice cream. Smiling slightly, I nodded, taking his hand and sprinting down the corridor. As we ran, my tendency to space out hit me again. Well, I was still running, but my mind was elsewhere. I wondered…what's going to happen after this? Will Draco and I get to be together? Shit…are we even going to survive…? Honestly, the death eaters' sudden arrival took us all by surprise. Sure, we knew they'd come sooner or later but still…

"Wait, Harry, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Draco questioned, halting abruptly. I shook myself 'awake', and pondered over the question. He had a point. Dumbledore never mentioned what we were supposed to do. Everyone else in Hogwarts seemed to have been given a position of some sort and probably knew where they were supposed to go and what they were supposed to do. Yeah, destroy the death eaters DUH, I knew that. But Draco and I had a more important task; we were supposed to kill Voldemort. How the hell were we supposed to fight him anyway? Where were we supposed to fight him? Dumbledore never told us ANYTHING! He just left us here, expecting us to know what to do apparently.

"Um…I really don't know, Dray. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure something out."  
>"Damn that old coot! He didn't give us any instructions! How the fuck are we supposed to know what to do?"<p>

"No idea," I muttered, glancing around nervously. Somewhere below us, I could hear howls of maniacal laughter and the shouting of all sorts of spells. They were already engaged in battle, but what about us? Were we supposed to… Then I suddenly realized something. "But we're not gonna stick around here any longer to find out, come on!" I declared with determination and pulled Draco along as we ran towards a familiar hallway.

"The Room of Requirement?" Draco asked, looking around as if he'd never been to the room before. "Yup," I grinned. "Good old Voldy is gonna find us sooner or later. You're his target, so even if he has to scan the whole castle looking for you, I'm sure he'll make that extra effort. He'll find us here, don't worry."

"So, we're gonna just…let him…come to us?"  
>"Well yeah, why bother looking for someone who's gonna find you anyway?"<br>"But why here- Ohhhh…"  
>"Aha, bet you got your answer, didn't you. This is our territory, Voldemort won't stand a chance against us!"<p>

Subconsciously I had reached my hand over to ruffle his hair. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I pulled back. "Now's not the time, Harry. Now's not the time…" I kept trying to remind myself of what my priorities were. Of course, Draco was my priority, but not in THAT way…yet…Now I was just his battle partner, his 'friend', and I was going to protect him and fight by his side no matter what.

Draco seemed to have shied away from my touch as well. I couldn't blame him, this was absolutely no time and place to get all mushy. I noticed him fidgeting with his fingers, as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure whether he should.

"Dray?"  
>"Um…Harry, I have been thinking… And there's something you should really know."<br>"What is it?"  
>"I…"<br>"You know, you can tell me anything if you want…"  
>"Truth is… I-"<p>

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The sudden explosion was nearer to us than ever and we were thrown off our feet by the unusually great force. I opened my eyes, finding myself lying on the hard ground. Draco was a few inches away from me. Phew…

"Harry Potter…" A low voice was heard, sending a weird sensation down my spine. There was a misty cloud of dust everywhere after the explosion through the walls, and I couldn't make out any human figure at all, but I was sure he was near…so very near… Then again, of course I couldn't see any human figure; he was most certainly no human. He was a monster…A monster who sought to murder the boy I loved.

Finally, the mist had somewhat cleared and Draco and I were back on our feet, standing face to face with the Dark Lord himself. The aura around him was intimidating, and the atmosphere overall was as tense as ever. Draco stepped back slightly behind me, trembling. He was terrified, but trying not to show it. At that moment I really wanted to give him a comforting hug and tell him not to be scared, that I would protect him from the bad, bad man. But I didn't.

"Fancy seeing you here, Harry Potter, I was wondering where you were, you weren't fighting my deatheaters down there."  
>"Why should I waste my time on those dumb fucks…"<br>"Touchy, touchy. Well, I shouldn't be wasting my time wasting yours. I'm here for young Malfoy over there. Hello, Draco. Long time no see."  
>"…"<p>

Voldemort's lips curled into a menacing smile as he took a step forward, with Draco taking another step back. "Oh, is the young Malfoy afraid?" The bald man was inching closer, and I sensed trouble afoot. No way in hell would I let him lay a single finger on the Slytherin. On instinct, I lifted my arms to shield Draco, keeping him safely behind me. "You touch him and you'll wish you'd never been born," were the words which escaped my lips. I wasn't really sure what came over me when I did that, all I knew was that I was bent on protecting Draco and I wanted to keep Voldemort as far away from him as possible.

The dark lord stared at the scene before him and laughed at us in a mocking way. "Harry Potter, since when were you and the Malfoy boy ever this close? What are you, his boyfriend?"

Before I could find an answer, Draco took me by surprise when he said firmly, "that's none of your concern, baldy." What could this mean…? At that moment I couldn't help but wonder once again whether he remembered…

"You insolent little shit…" Voldemort snarled. Now we'd done it; we pissed him off. Honestly, we had indeed wasted a lot of time, it was about time the ultimate showdown began. "Get ready, Draco," I whispered, lowering my arms so that I could get my wand out. He shot me a look of determination and did the same. Without warning, Voldemort shot the cruciatus curse in our direction, causing both of us to jump away from each other as the spell zoomed between us.

Realizing the distance between us, I immediately ran back to Draco. We took one of our battle stances and began one of the routines we practiced. We weren't going to use our secret method juuuuust yet. Voldemort warded off our attacks impressively, just as expected. But to his dismay, we were doing the same with his spells. The bald man gritted his teeth in frustration, shouting out the killing curse every second he could. Draco and I had decided on our first goal; intimidate Voldemort by blocking off all his spells, making him lose some confidence.

True enough, the dark lord was beginning to feel intimidated as to how he couldn't seem to hit his enemies. These two…kids… Who were they to stand up against him? How did they manage to block everything without breaking a sweat or even looking fearful of the death that awaited them within the luminous green curse?

On the contrary, Draco and I weren't exactly fearless or anything. We were freaking terrified. I was almost going to pee my pants, but that was going to be both embarrassing and absolutely uncalled for. I didn't know about Draco, but I was certain that I was giving myself a mental pat on the back each time I came close to the killing curse but didn't die. Yay me.

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH! THAT'S IT!" Voldemort cried out in exasperation. Then, he swooped forward for a close-up attack, which took Draco and I by surprise again. I felt his sharp fingernails dig into my back, shoving me apart from the Slytherin. My face met the concrete ground and it hurt like hell. Struggling to get up, I craned my neck and twisted my body around, only to take in a terrible sight…

Voldemort had lifted Draco up by the neck, clearly strangling him. Draco was trying to pry himself free, but to no avail. He was coughing pitifully and his eyes looked at me pleadingly, yearning for me to do something. He knew that he could just be killed any minute now that he was vulnerable. Voldemort smirked as he lifted his wand to the cracking ceiling. What the hell was he…then it hit me…

"Wait…Wait…! What are you going to do with him! STOP!"  
>"I could do it, you know, right now. It would be easy."<br>"Don't you dare kill him!"  
>"Oh, his time's not up yet. And why would I let YOU be the last one he sees before he shuts those beautiful silver eyes of his forever? Now, if you don't mind, Harry, I'm going to make his death a private one. Heh, looks like the face he remembers at the very end of his life will be that of the man who murders him. Me! Lord Voldemort!"<p>

With that, the dark lord shot a destructive spell at the ceiling, causing huge pieces of concrete to fall to the ground. The rock-like structures were falling dangerously close to me and I had to back away in order to not get hit, and I was aware that every step I took backwards was taking me further away from Draco. I knew I was going to regret it later if I failed to fulfill my task, but at that point of time, what could I do? Run towards the enemy, defenseless against the falling rocks which could kill me instantly if they hit me?

"HARRY!" Draco cried, still struggling. I could see him squirming about in Voldemort's grasp as the rocks continued to fall. "Don't let him take me!"

"Don't worry, Draco! I'll come for you!"

Voldemort gave a dramatic sigh and walked away into the other side of the room. "Farewell, Harry Potter," I heard his voice among the thundering crashes of the rocks. Slowly, the mountain of rocks got higher and higher until eventually I could see nothing but a huge pile of rubble. How could I get across now…?

Draco…I had left Draco with the man who was going to kill him…what had I done? If only I had the balls to rush through the falling rocks, maybe I wouldn't have gotten hit. Who knows? But damn…what am I going to do now…?

Draco…please…Don't die… Wait for me…I'll think of something…I'll save you…

…

Somehow…


	39. Chapter 39: SOS

Author's Note: Hey guys! It's nice to see that some of you still haven't given up on the story yet, this really inspires me to put in more effort on every chapter. Although it makes me kinda sad to see how some of my used-to-be regular reviewers stopped reviewing D: I'm sorry if the story began to suck or something. I shall promise a totally awesome ending though! R&R and enjoy this chappy, thanks!

P.S. I'm going to be gone on a MUN trip for the whole of next week, so yeah, no update for at least ten days…sorry! For those of you who don't know what MUN is, it's Model United Nations, some conference thing where we pretend to be delegates of the UN and stuff. Sounds lame and nerdy, yeah I know. At first I never really wanted to join MUN class, but I was forced to (somehow in 9th grade, it's a long story) join it and turned out that I loved it like hell. My first trip was to Qingdao, some part of China. Hey! If any of you are by any chance going to this year's THIMUN in Singapore, let me know! Haha, it would be nice to actually meet my reviewers in person :D

Acceptance  
><span>Chapter 39<span>  
><span>S.O.S<span>

As the last of the rocks fell, barricading me away from Draco, the dark lord gave a merciless cackle. He stole a last glance at the heap, convincing himself that there was no way I'd be able to get through any time soon, then focused all his attention on the victim in his grasp. "Draco Malfoy, son of that useless shit, Lucius Malfoy. I guess you should have seen this coming for quite a while, am I right?" He whispered in what seemed to be a seductive tone, pulling the terrified Slytherin closer towards him, never once breaking eye contact. Draco tilted his head away from him in fear.

"No, no, no, dear boy. Why are you turning away from your destiny? Why do you keep trying to escape from what you're supposed to accept?"  
>"I just want to live my own life…"<br>"You shameful brat. All I asked from the very beginning was for you to kill that crackpot old coot, but NO, your meddlesome father had to go complicate things, insisting that he didn't want you to become a killer."  
>"Don't talk about my father that way."<br>"Acting all brave now, are we, Draco? But you know deep down inside that you're still a useless coward…just like him."

"SHUT UP ABOUT MY FATHER!" Draco cried. At that moment, Voldemort found something jabbing at his chest; it was Draco's wand. While Voldemort had been blabbing on and on, Draco had stolen the opportunity to sneak his wand out. A true crafty Slytherin he was indeed. In shock, Voldemort made an attempt to retrieve his own wand, but was faced with another jab in the ribs with Draco's wand.

"Don't even think about it," Draco hissed. Voldemort's look of shock didn't last as long as he hoped though. On the contrary, he shook his head and chuckled in a creepy way, "what are you going to do, young Malfoy? Kill me?"

Draco knew that was his task, and Voldemort was right where he wanted him. But the idea of using a forbidden curse…he hadn't exactly come to terms with it yet. Being suddenly expected to Avada Kedavra the man before him was somehow putting him in a spot. Killing someone just didn't feel right although he knew he had to; he had known that it was his task to finish the man off for a fairly long time now. He knew he had to do it the whole time…but…really…kill…? Right now…?

Before Draco knew it, Voldemort had snatched his wand away from him and kicked him into a pillar. Draco was still in shock as he felt his body collide with the hard material. He had the perfect chance to complete his mission! Why did he chicken out?

Now, Voldemort approached him steadily, with two wands in his hands. "Tsk…Tsk...You really are just as cowardly as Lucius, my boy… I despise cowards. Just you wait and see how I punish you to death."

~*~* On the other side of the rocks ~*~*

I was casting every spell I could think of to destroy the mountain of fallen rocks. It really was harder than expected, and I had taken so long just to destroy the surface. Who knows what kind of torture Draco was going through while I've been wasting time out here? Hell, is he still even alive?

Suddenly, before I could cast my next spell, the rocks had all exploded on the spot, breaking into tiny pieces. I knew I was going to sustain numerous cuts and bruises from those flying stones… But wait, how did that happen? Fanning the dust away from my face, I looked around the room. No Voldemort. But Draco was there! On the floor!

"Draco! Holy shit, you're still alive! Oh my god, what the hell happened? One moment the rocks were there and later-"  
>"HARRY, MOVE!"<br>"Huh?"  
>"IMPERIO!"<p>

My moment of relief was short lived as I felt Voldemort's spell hit me like a bullet. Why would he want to hit me with the imperius curse of all things? His target was Draco, wasn't it? Shouldn't he just have killed me on the spot and gotten straight to what his real motive was?

Soon, Voldemort emerged from the shadows, wands firmly gripped in his hand. I clenched my fists, wanting to smack the bald guy for disarming Draco. I didn't stare at him for long though, I was worried for the Slytherin and immediately turned to look at him. Upon further inspection, I noticed that he seemed currently unharmed. Seriously? Voldemort had alone time with him for so long and he barely did anything? What exactly does he want…

"You haven't thanked me yet, Harry."  
>"For what?"<br>"Why, I helped you get through that pile of rubble. A word of thanks would be nice."  
>"You did it? But why? What the hell are you planning!"<br>"Don't you ever use your brain, boy? Why do you think I put the imperius curse on you?"

Then he walked towards me and pointed his wand at me. Beads of perspiration were rolling down my neck as I anxiously awaited his next move. Strangely, he didn't hurt me, but instead, made me take my wand out.

"Why do you think I haven't harmed you yet, Harry?"  
>"I don't know…"<p>

Still under the imperius curse, my arm began lifting the wand until it stopped at a particular position. Voldemort gave my wand a light pat and began stroking my back. I felt the strong urge to throw up, but I couldn't even move.

"Why do you think I'm not taking your wand away, Harry, even though I took…his?"

At that moment, I gasped in realization. Draco was still staring at me with pleading eyes as we both realized that my wand was now pointing right at him. "Shit, don't make me do this…anything but this!" I shouted at Voldemort. My head was unable to turn but I would assume that he knew my words were directed at him. Voldemort laughed and ceased the stroking, thank merlin, but what he said made me wish he'd continue harassing me instead.

"You, Harry Potter, are not going to kill Draco Malfoy; that is my job. I just need you to torture him, beat him to a pulp or something. Once you weaken him enough, then I'll finish my job. Besides, I've got all the time I need. And what could beat watching Harry Potter torture his own boyfriend till he's near death?"

I cringed at the sound of those words. How could he be so cruel? Had the man really no heart or conscience whatsoever? I couldn't even be bothered to protest against my status as Draco's boyfriend, I was just scared right now… We had lost. Draco was disarmed, his wand was in the hands of his potential killer, while I…I was under the killer's control…and I was going to watch myself torture the boy I loved…that itself was torture…

"Harry…Please don't…Don't…!" Draco whimpered, backing against a wall. I couldn't understand why he didn't get up and run though. Confused, I simply told him to escape and that the door was wide open. With Voldemort focusing on me now, he'd have no time to bother about him running away. Draco then looked at the door a shot me a look which said: you think I don't know that?

This left me even more puzzled, until Voldemort cut in, "you two really are just like any other stupid kid on the street. Isn't it obvious that he CAN'T move?"

"What do you mean, he can't-"  
>"A while ago, I just broke one of his legs. Good luck having him hobble out on one foot, Harry. Some boyfriend he turned out to be, eh Draco?"<br>"You did WHAT?"

My eyes then travelled down to the boy sitting some distance before me. Only then did I notice that his right foot was in a twisted, mangled position. How the crap could I have missed that? The blonde was obviously holding back tears of agony, there was no way in hell that anyone could break a leg that badly and not show any sign of pain about it.

"But don't worry, Harry. He'll just have to endure a couple more beatings from you before I get the honors of releasing him from his painful life," Voldemort declared, shifting onto a comfortable position among some rocks. I was beginning to panic, and I knew Draco was too. I don't want to do this! I never wanted to kill or brutally torture anyone in my whole life, except Voldemort, now that it was my mission to do so. But never had I thought that I was going to have to torture Draco Malfoy until he was near death. I admit I might have wanted to push him off the astronomy tower on several occasions, but obviously, I never did. What's making it worse now is that Draco is no longer my enemy. Even if he was, the idea of abusing him just didn't seem to click with my character. Now that I actually loved the Slytherin, these uncontrollable actions I was about to do to him would be plain torture and I knew for sure that my heart would bleed for him with every blow.

"Well," Voldemort shot us both a look that had evil written all over it. He then stared directly at the quivering Draco and shot him a deathly grin.

"Let the show begin."


End file.
